Travel spots to be closed, private gatherings banned in holiday season amid worsening pandemic

This year will be a subdued holiday season for many South Koreans as winter destinations are closed and restaurants are banned from having groups of five or more people under toughened virus curbs.

Authorities have repeatedly urged the public to cancel their year-end gatherings and trips to reduce risk of COVID-19 infections, but some people have found loopholes in the social distancing guidelines to go to ski resorts and have private parties in hotels and other venues.

The Seoul metropolitan area is currently under Level 2.5, the second highest in a five-tier scheme, and the rest of the nation is under Level 2.

As part of efforts to minimize people's activities without adopting Level 3, near-lockdown measures, a new set of special virus rules targeted at popular venues in the holiday season take effect Wednesday for the Seoul metropolitan area and Thursday in other areas until Jan. 3.

Under the nationwide restrictions, private gatherings of five or more people at restaurants are banned. Restaurant owners and customers will face fines of up to 3 million won ($2,710) and up to 100,000 won, respectively, in case they are found to have violated the ban.

Wedding and funeral halls will still be allowed to operate with a cap of 30 people in Seoul and 50 in other regions.

Winter sports facilities, including ski resorts and sledding sites, as well as sunrise tourism spots, will be closed, and lodging facilities have been ordered to open at 50 percent capacity during the designated period.

Across the nation, 16 ski resorts, 35 ice rinks and other winter tourism venues, including popular beaches for watching the sunrise on New Year's Day, face shutdowns.

Churches across the nation are required to have online only worship services and are prohibited from offering meals under Level 2.5 distancing.

Health authorities were considering whether to raise the social distancing guidelines to Level 3 to slowdown the alarming pace of the spreading virus but remain cautious over taking action on concerns of its far-reaching effect on the domestic economy.

The country added 1,092 more COVID-19 cases Wednesday, raising the total caseload to 52,560, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). A total of 739 have died from the virus since the first confirmed case on Jan. 20.

In the past week, the country has reported more than 1,000 daily confirmed cases for five consecutive days, marking the worst period for the pandemic in the nation.

Authorities warned of exponential growth ahead of the holiday season and expect 1,000 to 1,200 daily new cases next week if the current trend continues. (Yonhap)