Starbucks Korea to limit seating in social distancing efforts

Starbucks Korea said Monday that it will limit seating at its outlets across the country, joining a nationwide social distancing campaign amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The coffee chain said tables and chairs will be placed between one and 1 1/2 meters apart to keep customers at a distance from one another.

Starbucks has already adopted such a system at some of its outlets in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, the epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak here.

"Social distancing measures will be actively applied to outlet operations to preemptively prevent the spread of COVID-19," said a company official who asked not to be named.

The country recorded fewer than 50 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,284. It marked the lowest daily increase since late February.

Seeking to reduce the daily number of new infections, the government has extended strict guidelines on social distancing to April 19.

E-Mart, the country's biggest discount store chain operated by Shinsegae Group, holds a 50 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, with the remaining portion controlled by its US parent Starbucks. (Yonhap)