Gwangju City Extends Social Distancing Level 1.5 Until the 16th

Entertainment venues, indoor sports facilities, bathhouses, restaurants, and cafes allowed to extend operating hours by 1 hour... open until midnight

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City will extend social distancing level 1.5 from the 10th to the 16th while adjusting the strengthened quarantine rules.

Kim Jong-hyo, Deputy Mayor for Administration, announced in an online briefing on COVID-19 at 2 p.m. on the 9th, “Considering the current trend of local infections, social distancing level 1.5 will be maintained from the 10th to the 16th, but the temporarily strengthened quarantine rules will be adjusted in detail.”

The operating hours restriction for six types of entertainment facilities (entertainment, danran, emotional pubs, colatec (including dance halls), hunting pocha, holdem pubs), singing practice rooms, indoor standing concert halls, party rooms, indoor sports facilities, and bathhouses was previously banned from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day, but the operating hours will be extended by one hour to allow operation from midnight to 5 a.m. the next day.

Restaurants and cafes are also only allowed takeout and delivery from midnight to 5 a.m. the next day.

Additionally, religious activities are allowed with participation limited to within 30% of the seating capacity.

The ban on private gatherings of five or more people and the prohibition of activities of sports clubs related to recreational sports remain unchanged.

The city plans to continue strict enforcement with a zero-tolerance policy against violations of quarantine rules.

Deputy Mayor Kim emphasized, “Recent infections have occurred around us in places such as schools, study rooms, and saunas, and in some cases, the exact source of infection is unknown because confirmation was made after symptoms appeared and diagnostic tests were conducted. In a situation where it is impossible to know when and where infection will occur, the safest prevention is to comply with quarantine rules.”

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccinations in the Gwangju area are currently proceeding with advance reservations according to the government’s second-quarter vaccination implementation plan. Of the 178,490 eligible people, about 65.3%, or 116,508 people, have completed vaccination.