SEOUL: South Korea on Sunday eased its tough social distancing policy for the next two weeks in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, with new daily coronavirus cases hovering stubbornly within triple digits.
The government has lifted a ban on onsite dining after 9 p.m. though still requires restaurants and cafes to restrict seating and record patrons’ names and contact details.
While leisure facilities such as gyms and Internet cafes are also allowed to reopen, under so-called phase two restrictions, indoor gatherings are limited to 50 people and outdoor gatherings to 100, while spectators are banned from sporting events.
Health authorities said the easing would contribute toward a reopening of the economy, before returning to tougher guidelines for two weeks again from Sept. 28 during the Chuseok holiday.
“After a comprehensive review of the recent situation and expert opinion, the government intends to adjust social distancing to phase two in the Seoul area for two weeks,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a televised meeting of government officials.
Infection numbers fell steadily to the low 100s after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing curbs in late August, but surged last week as small clusters emerged.
“The number of daily infections is still not dropping to double-digits and it isn’t yet a situation where measures can be significantly relaxed, as one out of four people’s path of transmission is untraceable,” Chung said.
The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 121 new cases of coronavirus infection as of midnight on Saturday, bringing total infections to 22,176, with 358 deaths.
South Korea eases social distancing for two weeks ahead of major holiday
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South Korea eases social distancing for two weeks ahead of major holiday
- Health authorities said the easing would contribute toward a reopening of the economy
- But tougher guidelines for two weeks resume from Sept. 28 during the Chuseok holiday
Poland charges six with trying to smuggle sanctioned equipment to Russia
WARSAW: Four Belarusians and two Poles were detained and charged with attempting to smuggle to Russia devices used to automate the production of integrated circuits, used, among others, in the assembly of combat drones, Polish prosecutors said.
Warsaw has been warning of Russian and Belarusian attempts to destabilize countries backing Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on February 24, 2022.
On Wednesday, Polish prosecutors said the suspects were detained on February 18 and charged with attempting to smuggle through Belarus strategically significant equipment, which is under sanctions and which could be used in the production of military technology.
“Violation of the provisions of the sanctions act is classified as a crime, punishable by imprisonment for a period of no less than three years,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Three suspects were placed in pretrial detention for a period of three months, while the remaining three were placed under police supervision, bail, and a ban on leaving the country.
“Earlier actions by officers of the National Revenue Administration helped thwart an attempt to smuggle a machine, which contributed to the disruption of potential supplies of military equipment to the troops of the Russian Federation operating in eastern Ukraine,” prosecutors said.
