Jeju Island to keep social distancing rules intact

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- The provincial government of Jeju Island, South Korea's most popular vacation destination, said Monday it will extend its social distancing campaign for another two weeks to completely stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, contrary to the central government's decision to relax its social distancing rules this week.

The government of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province said its own social distancing campaign will be extended through May 19, regardless of the central government's different decision.

A recent slowdown in the number of new COVID-19 cases has prompted the Korean government to end its 45-day social distancing campaign and shift towards a so-called everyday life quarantine scheme on Wednesday, which allows conditional resumption of gatherings and events and reopening of public facilities.

The Jeju government said it will remain on alert for a possible rise in coronavirus infections, as more than 200,000 tourists visited the southern resort island during the extended series of holidays that began last Thursday and visitor numbers are expected to further rise in the coming weeks.

Under the policy, the provincial government will maintain its current quarantine measures for the gateway airport, seaports, tourist spots and hotels and delay the reopening of sports facilities and public libraries.

"Many tourists have recently visited Jeju Island from all over the country, and it is expected that there will be growing numbers of visitors. The current social distancing rules will be maintained through May 19, and further follow-up measures will be announced thereafter," a provincial government official said.

South Korea reported eight more cases of the new coronavirus Monday, but all of them came from overseas, marking the third day that the country has reported no locally transmitted virus infections.

Jeju Island has so far reported only 13 coronavirus cases.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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