Hamdeok Beach on Jeju Island is dotted with summer vacationers on Aug. 17, 2021. The Jeju government is to close Hamdeok and 11 other public beaches on the southern resort island from Wednesday in accordance with tougher social distancing rules. (Yonhap)
JEJU, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Jeju Island, South Korea’s most popular travel destination, is set to raise its social distancing restrictions to the toughest Level 4 this week to cope with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the provincial government said Tuesday.
The Jeju government said the Level 4 social distancing rules, up one notch from the current Level 3, will take effect throughout the resort island Wednesday and last until midnight of Aug. 29.
Under Level 4, all 12 public beaches and 498 elderly welfare facilities on the island will be closed. Private gatherings of up to two people are allowed after 6 p.m. and up to four people before 6 p.m.
Multi-use facilities, including restaurants and cafes, will be allowed to operate until 10 p.m. and 1,035 adult entertainment facilities, including bars, clubs and singing rooms, will be ordered closed temporarily.
Jeju reported 290 confirmed COVID-19 cases for the past week, or a daily average of 41.43.
At present, the greater Seoul area and six cities out of the area, including the southern port city of Busan and the central city of Daejeon, are under Level 4 social distancing restrictions.
(Yonhap)
