SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea’s prime minister on Friday said more limits on private gatherings may be needed around the country as authorities reported 1,536 new coronavirus cases.
South Korea was for months a coronavirus success story as it kept outbreaks under control with testing, tracing and social distancing, but the more contagious Delta variant has been fueling a new wave of infections.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum asked local governments to standardize gathering limits to less than four people to avoid confusion in the non-metropolitan area, where the cases have been quickly surging, after imposing a semi-lockdown in the greater Seoul area.
“If the number of confirmed cases continues to spiral, I stress that there is no choice but to further limit the number of gatherings after 6 p.m. outside the metropolitan area as well,” Kim told a televised government meeting on Friday.
Total infections across the country of 52 million people now stands at 175,046 cases, and 2,051 deaths have been reported.
People wait in line to get a coronavirus disease test at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea on July 15, 2021.
