Seoul, December 14: The South Korean government on Monday ordered to close down all the schools in the country's capital city, Seoul and surrounding areas as the it witnessed the worst COVID-19 spike since February, last week. The schools will remain shut from Tuesday and the classes would take place online till the end of the month, as per a report by Reuters. The country has entered u=into its Phase-3 lockdown against the coronavirus with an aim to implement stricter rules to ensure proper social distancing. Japan, South Korea Hit Record New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun reportedly said such a step required careful review, as the government comes under mounting pressure to do more to step the rise of infections.“The government will not hesitate to make the decision to upgrade to Phase 3 if it is considered necessary as it takes into account the opinions of related ministries, local governments, and experts,” he told a meeting of health officials according to a transcript from his office. 11 US Soldiers in South Korea Test COVID-19 Positive.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Monday reported 718 new COVID-19 cases across the country. Most of the cases were reported in the capital city of Seoul and its neighbouring port cities Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. South Korea as so far reported 587 deaths due to coronavirus. The total COVID-19 tally in the country stands at 43,484 as on Monday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 14, 2020 01:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).