S.Korea tightens curbs in Seoul as COVID-19 cases spike

SEOUL (Reuters), 6 Dec, 2020 – South Korea will impose heightened social distancing rules for the capital Seoul and surrounding areas, health officials said on Sunday, as authorities struggle to contain the nation’s largest wave of coronavirus infection in nine months. The decision comes after the government implemented unprecedented measures on Saturday in a country that had seen initial success through aggressive contact tracing and other steps.

“We are in a very dangerous situation,” health ministry official Park Neung-hoo told a briefing, saying localised clusters have the potential to become a national outbreak.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 631 new cases as of midnight Saturday - the largest daily tally since a peak in February and early March - bringing the country’s total to 37,546, with 545 deaths. 

Nearly a month of triple-digit daily infections has brought the number of active cases in South Korea to a record 7,873, the KDCA said, raising concerns over the dwindling number of hospital beds.