South Korea extended its social distancing policy for another 16 days on Sunday but offered some relief for churches and sporting fixtures, as it reported just eight new coronavirus infections, the lowest in two months. The slightly relaxed guidelines mean high-risk venues like churches will face fewer restrictions, while sports matches such as the popular Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League can resume without an audience.
“It is safest to maintain the intensive social distancing, but it isn’t easy realistically. We need to find a middle ground,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting of government officials. “If we can maintain a stable management at the current level, we will shift to ‘routine social distancing’ from May 6,” Mr. Chung said. Health authorities have said this would allow a reopening of the economy, while maintaining guidelines on disinfection and preventing the spread of the virus in people’s lives.
South Korea in March issued an administrative order that strongly recommended religious, indoor sports and entertainment facilities suspend operations. The language has now been softened, allowing facilities to restart operations as long as they comply with disinfection guidelines. “The government will evaluate the degree of risk every two weeks and readjust the level of social distancing when necessary,” said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo.
South Korea has largely managed to bring the outbreak under control and has recently been reporting daily new cases hovering around 20. Health authorities called the trend good news, but issued a note of caution about overly optimistic predictions.