South Korea began to enforce Level One-point-Five social distancing rules for the greater Seoul area and parts of Gangwon Province Thursday amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said that the heightened social distancing rules will be enforced for the capital region until December 2. 

The new guidelines will be put in place in Incheon from Monday, while the island counties of Gangwha and Ongjin will be exempt. 

For Gangwon Province, the government allowed local municipalities to decide on whether to raise the level depending on their virus situation. Cheorwon will enforce One-point-Five rules from Thursday. 

Under Level One-point-Five, multiuse and high-risk facilities including clubs, bars and restaurants are subject to stricter distancing rules, such as keeping certain distances between tables and setting up partitions. 

Rallies, music concerts and festivals which involve singing or chants are limited from having over 100 participants. Professional sports games and churches are allowed to have only 30 percent of their maximum capacity.