VIOLATORS OF DISTANCING MEASURES

[Anchor Lead]

Police have caught more than 200 people for operating and using an illegal club. From Monday all bars and clubs in the greater Seoul area and Busan must be closed.

[Pkg]

People dance in the basement holding hands. On April 10 some 200 people were caught operating and using this illegal facility in Gangnam, Seoul. They were reportedly members of a dance club. Some did not follow COVID-19 precautions. Police indicted the club owner for violating food hygiene regulations. The local district office will soon levy fines on the customers. A total of 381 cases have been confirmed in relation to a bar in Busan. All bars and clubs in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon and Busan must stay closed from Monday to prevent further outbreaks. Level 2 social distancing measures for the greater Seoul area and Busan and Level 1.5 restrictions for all other regions have been extended for three more weeks. Stricter measures currently apply in areas where Level 2 measures are in place. Six kinds of bars and clubs must stay closed in Level 2 areas.

[Soundbite] Jung Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "A gathering ban on bars and clubs is inevitable, as wearing masks there is not easy and people tend to stay in those confined spaces for prolonged periods."

The government decided to issue an administrative order to get the public tested, as the growing number of cases of an unknown origin means the virus is spreading faster than epidemiological investigations are being conducted.

[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-cheol(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "We will make sure that symptomatic people who need to get tested can receive testing within 48 hours."

A special governmental taskforce has been set up to clamp down on illegal entertainment facilities where virus precautions are often overlooked.