South Korea to loosen Covid-19 social distancing rules on Jul 1

South Korea will relax social distancing rules and allow private gatherings of up to six people in the higher Seoul area from the current four starting on Jul 1, the federal government said on Sunday (Jun 20). The announcement comes as South Korea has inoculated 29.2 % of its population by Saturday, putting it on track to meet up a target of 70 per cent by September. Daily new infections have held stubbornly in a variety of 400 to 700 for recent weeks, but have stayed below 600 for more than a week so far. Beneath the revised rules, restaurants, nightlife venues and cafes will be permitted to open for business until 12am, versus 10pm currently. "The brand new social distancing system can be an effort to discover a balance between quarantine and lifestyle recovery amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic," Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said in a televised briefing.

Unless daily infections spike significantly, the federal government plans to permit gatherings of up to eight people in the higher Seoul area from Jul 15, Kwon said.

For those beyond greater Seoul, no restrictions will apply on the number of private gatherings allowed.

South Korea reported 429 new infections by midnight on Saturday, for a tally of 151,149 cases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, with a death toll of 2,002.