GOV’T EXTENDS DISTANCING RULES

[Anchor Lead]

The government decided to extend the current social distancing level for three more weeks until February 6th. This means that restaurants and cafes still have to close at 9 p.m. However, the capacity restriction on private gatherings has relaxed from four to six people.

[Pkg]

The current social distancing measures will be extended for three more weeks. The business hour restriction that mandates restaurants and cafes to close by 9 p.m. will remain in place until February 6th. However, the capacity restriction on private gatherings will be relaxed from the current four to a six people cap. The vaccine pass system will be implemented at 15 types of multipurpose facilities, but not at private academies and study cafes exempted by court order. The government plans to suppress the surge by prolonging the social distancing measures as the omicron variant is expected to continue spreading and people will travel widely over the Lunar New Year holiday.

[Soundbite] Kim Boo-kyum(Prime Minister) : "I ask people to again refrain from visiting hometowns and gathering with family and friends over this Seol holiday."

Special disease control measures in time for the Seol holiday will be carried out for two weeks beginning on January 20th until February 2nd. Train tickets will be sold only for window seats and close-contact visits to convalescent hospitals and facilities will be restricted over the holiday. Expressway tolls will be collected normally and eating at rest stops will be prohibited. The omicron variant is projected to become the dominant strain even in Korea as early as next week, prompting the government to reorganize the disease control protocol.

[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-cheol(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "Given the characteristic of the omicron variant that generates a large number of cases, we plan to shift the medical response paradigm to one that responds quickly and flexibly to high-risk groups."

The number of new cases has remained around 4,000 for three straight days but the number of imported cases has set a record high of 401. In order to keep the number of imported cases down, individuals traveling to Korea must present negative PCR test results within 48 hours, shortened from 72 hours, of departure. Also, entry bans on eleven countries including South Africa will remain in place.