S.Korea weighs tighter restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge

SEOUL: South Korea's prime minister on Friday said tighter limits on private gatherings may be needed as authorities reported 1,536 new coronavirus cases and treatment centres filled up, prompting calls for more people to be allowed to receive care at home.

South Korea was for months a coronavirus success story as it kept outbreaks under control with testing, tracing and social distancing, but the more contagious Delta variant has fuelled a fourth wave of infection among the unvaccinated. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum asked local governments to standardise gathering limits to less than four people to avoid confusion in the non-metropolitan area, after imposing a semi-lockdown in the greater Seoul area.