COVID curfew extended to 10 p.m. from Saturday

South Korea has decided to partly ease current social distancing curbs, the government announced Friday.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the current 9 p.m. curfew for dining out at restaurants and other businesses will be pushed back by an hour to 10 p.m. Kim, however, noted that the government will keep the six-person limit on private gatherings.

The change will become effective from Saturday to March 13. Kim noted further changes can also take place, depending on how the omicron wave develops in the future.

The government’s latest decision to ease social distancing curbs came despite the rapid increases in the number of patients infected with the omicron variant.

The country’s daily COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased through this week to surpass the 100,000 mark as of midnight Thursday.

The government’s call came largely due to continued backlash from small merchants and self-employed people, who have financially suffered under the restrictions.

“It was inevitable to make a change (in social distancing rules), given the deepening financial difficulties that small merchants and self-employed people are faced with,” Kim said.

The government will monitor the spread of the virus under the changed rules over the next three weeks, he added.

COVID-19 safety protocols may still remain beyond the three-week period.

“The government has decided to keep the social distancing rules in place until the omicron wave reaches its peak and starts to go down,” Kim said.

Kim expects the omicron wave’s peak would arrive between end-February and mid-March, quoting the latest estimates released by experts.

Meanwhile, Kim asked the National Assembly to swiftly review and confirm the size of an extra budget that will be used to help small merchants.

The government is also reviewing a loan maturity extension and a temporary suspension of debt-service payments for small merchants and self-employed people.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)