In a major blow to what could have been seen the initial resumption of the global nightlife set-up, the South Korean authorities have retracted from their earlier stand. All bars and nightclubs in the capital of Seoul have been instructed to close business. This comes barely 3 days after “a new daily life with Covid-19” that the city was told to embrace. Approximately 2,100 bars, discos and nightclubs are affected by this order.
According to initial reports, a 29-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday after visiting 3 nightclubs in the Itaewon area of Seoul. The authorities are now attempting to trace around 7,000 who had set foot around 5 nightclubs in the region. Earlier, the national government urged entertainment venues around the nation to either enforce anti-virus measures or face closure. These included distancing, keeping customer lists, temperature checks and requiring employees to wear masks.
Just because of a few people’s carelessness, all our efforts so far can go to waste
Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon
According to the Mayor of Seoul Park Won Soon, a minimum number of 40 infections had been linked to nightclubs. These have been broken down as 27 in Seoul, 12 in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, and one in Busan. South Korea had earlier confirmed at least 10,840 cases of the coronavirus which comprised of 256 deaths as well. Social distancing guidelines were on the verge of being relaxed following the drastically reduced number of cases in previous weeks. This also involved a plan to see a phased reopening of schools.
With these recent developments, it is now a question of when rather than how for the dance music as well as the global nightlife industry to return. A new adaptive normalcy is not hard to imagine in the coming days.
