The government has decided to ease private gathering bans for the upcoming Chuseok holiday amid growing complaints from small business owners ― although the current social distancing measures will be extended for four more weeks until Oct. 3.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced Friday a set of special virus control measures to be applied during the five-day weekend. The national holiday runs from Sept.18 through 22, during which millions of people are expected to travel across the country to visit their families and relatives.
According to the government, Seoul and its surrounding areas will remain under the current social distancing measures ― Level 4, while Level 3 will continue in the rest of the country.
Under the measures, from Sept 17 to 23, up to eight family members will be allowed to gather at home if the group includes four fully vaccinated individuals.
From Sept. 13 through 26, visits to nursing homes will be allowed across the country regardless of the social distancing measures in place. In-person visits are allowed only when both the patient and visitor have been fully vaccinated, while in other cases the visits should be non-contact ones such as through a transparent barrier.
The eased restrictions seem to quell protests from independent businessmen as they have fallen victim to the prolonged distancing rules that have been in place for months.
A recent survey conducted in August among 500 self-employed individuals by the Korea Economic Research showed that four out of 10 were mulling closing their business.
When multiple answers were allowed, an overwhelming majority of 95 percent cited business slowdown as the key reason, which further breaks down into 45 percent citing a decrease in sales, 26 percent fixed costs and 22 percent debt as the primary reason.
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| Members of a coalition of small business owners stage a rally in front of Gwangju City Hall, Aug. 26, to protest against the stringent COVID-19 restrictions, demanding suitable compensations from the government. Yonhap |
Against this backdrop, the government has decided to push back the curfew on eateries and cafes in the greater Seoul area to 10 p.m., an hour later than the current 9. p.m.
Also, in regions under social distancing Level 4, up to six people can gather in eateries and cafes if the group includes two fully vaccinated people in the daytime, and four vaccinated individuals after 6 p.m.
Under Level 3, private gatherings of up to eight people are allowed if the group includes four vaccinated people.
But some critics expressed concerns that such relaxations of COVID-19 restrictions may lead to explosive growth in infections as the current fourth wave of infections are showing no signs of abating.
“Extending operation hours of eateries and cafes may worsen the coronavirus situation. I am also concerned about the possible spread of the virus during the Chuseok holidays, especially among the younger population, many of whom haven’t been vaccinated yet,” said Chon Eun-mi, a respiratory disease professor at Ewha Woman’s University Mokdong Hospital.
“It would have been better to push back the curfew when at least 50 percent of the population are fully vaccinated,” she added. So far, Korea has fully vaccinated about 33 percent of its population, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Meanwhile, the KDCA reported 1,709 new infections for Thursday, including 1,675 local transmissions, raising the aggregated total to 257,110.
