The government has decided to extend the current Level Two social distancing for another week amid growing calls for raising it to the highest Level Three. 

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced the decision on Friday in a government meeting on COVID-19, saying that upgrading social distancing to Level Three would be a last resort in light of its social and economic repercussions.

The prime minister added that the government will retain Level Two social distancing for another week, but with much strengthened guidelines.

He said the government will discuss measures to restrict business hours and operation methods of restaurants, cafes and shops often used by people in daily life.

The prime minister repeated calls for citizens' active cooperation in the government's quarantine efforts, urging churches to suspend offline services.