Lockdown to Be Eased This Week

Korea will ease social-distancing rules and start a slow return to normal this week, some 45 days after it imposed the lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday said that the government will loosen lockdown rules from Wednesday to reopen public and other facilities gradually and allow social gatherings and events provided that preventive measures are taken.

"Thanks to the high level of public participation and cooperation, we are now ready to move on," Chung added. 

Libraries, museums and exhibition halls will reopen on Wednesday, as will some performance centers and indoor sports facilities.

Chung also said the government will "gradually open" schools. "If stable conditions continue, we will ask the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to adjust the alert level," which is still red.

As of Monday morning, there were 10,801 confirmed coronavirus infections in Korea, including eight new cases. The number of new infections has stood below 20 a day since April 18.