SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's quarantine authorities said Friday that it will extend the country's five-tier social-distancing rules at the third-highest level in the Seoul metropolitan area for two weeks.
The Level 2 social-distancing guidelines will be kept in place for two more weeks till March 14 in the greater Seoul area, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
Crowded facilities, such as cafes, restaurants and fitness centers, will be allowed to open until 10:00 p.m. local time in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province.
Restrictions will be lifted on the operation of movie theaters, internet cafes, study rooms, amusement parks, beauty shops and discount outlets.
In non-metropolitan areas, the social-distancing campaign will be maintained at Level 1.5 for two more weeks.
No private gathering of five or more people will be permitted both in the Seoul and the non-metropolitan regions, except for the gathering of direct families.
Six risky entertainment facilities, including nightclubs, will be allowed to open until 10:00 p.m. across the country.
In the latest tally, the country reported 406 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 88,922.
For the past week, the daily average number of locally transmitted cases was 373.9. It was down 15.9 percent from the previous week. Enditem
