The government has decided to tighten quarantine regulations at the current social distancing level for the time being, amid growing calls that the distancing level should be raised to the highest. 

Health Ministry official Son Young-rae announced on Thursday that the government decided to make up for shortcomings at the current Level Two-point-Five. 

The government apparently is intent on maximizing the effects of the current distancing level by further implementing quarantine measures for each sector before upgrading to Level Three, which is likely to deal a serious blow to the self-employed. 

To this end, the government will ban gatherings at “hold’em pubs” for ten days starting this Saturday. People play cards while having drinks at such venues. Clusters of infections were reported at five such pubs in Seoul’s Itaewon area, and related cases reached 24 as of last Wednesday.

The government also plans to issue an administrative order to ban people from sitting down and having coffee at self-service cafés. Such rules are already in place at regular cafés. 

Following a cluster at a ski resort in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, the government has banned ski resorts outside of the Seoul metro area from operating after 9 p.m.