S Korea strengthens restrictions

South Korea was forced to reinforce its social distancing measures again after its highest spike in coronavirus cases in almost two months. Officials warned that the surge of 79 new cases of Covid-19 risked erasing some of the country’s hard-won gains against the pandemic. Of the new cases, 69 are linked to a distribution facility owned by an e-commerce company, Coupang, in Bucheon, west of Seoul. It is feared the tally may increase as thousands of workers and their contacts are tested for the virus. Health officials say the country’s much-lauded contact-tracing scheme is being increasingly stretched by new clusters. Following an emergency government meeting, public facilities in Seoul such as parks, museums and art galleries will now be closed for the next two weeks.