'Third wave in full swing': South Korea to close bars, limit restaurants and churches amid new coronavirus spike

South Korea’s capital city and nearby areas will close bars and nightclubs, limit religious gatherings, and restrict service at restaurants, in a bid to contain a burgeoning third wave of coronavirus infections, the health minister said on Sunday.

People walk along Myeong-dong Shopping Street in Seoul while wearing masks on 21 November, 2020. Source: Sipa USA Simon Shin / SOPA Images/Sipa US

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 330 new daily coronavirus cases as of midnight on Saturday, a drop from 386 reported the day before, but the fifth straight day of more than 300 new cases.

“The third wave of COVID-19 outbreaks is increasingly in full swing,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a briefing. “The situation is extremely serious and grave.”

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