President Moon Jae-in asked religious groups to comply with the extended nationwide social distancing drive by avoiding offline services in order to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
 
The president made the call on Saturday in a Facebook post, saying that the country is at a critical juncture with the COVID-19 outbreak, either going into stable condition or spreading again.
 
Moon said that the nation must prevent the outbreak of new clusters and massive infections, which would exhaust medical workers and the whole country.
 
The president said that religious gatherings are one of the factors for massive infections and expressed concerns that some churches may push for offline services on Sunday despite the social distancing campaign.
 
The government announced earlier on Saturday that the stricter social distancing campaign will continue for another two weeks until April 19.