South Korea to ease coronavirus restrictions

ISTANBUL South Korea will ease its strict social distancing rules this week as cases from the novel coronavirus stay low, state-run media said on Sunday. “South Korea said it will move on to what it calls an ‘everyday life quarantine’ scheme starting Wednesday, giving the go-ahead to the normalization of schools and public facilities,” Yonhap News Agency reported. Citing the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency reported that some 13 new coronavirus cases were confirmed today, bringing the tally to 10,793. Some 250 virus-linked deaths have also been registered since the start of the pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in South Korea was detected on Jan. 20, and the cases peaked by the end of February. Seoul imposed strict social distancing measures to stem the spread of the infection. It barred gatherings, asked religious places to maintain the lowest attendance and implemented rigorous testing. The virus has killed more than 244,000 people, with total infections over 3.45 million in 187 countries. Meanwhile, just over 1.1 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.