As the relentless third wave of the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of deceleration, the government says it will step up its clampdown of businesses violating key quarantine rules by actively imposing penalties and operation bans.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Friday, business owners are required to limit entry, abide by reduced operation hours and enforce mandatory mask-wearing for everyone.

An immediate shutdown will be ordered when businesses break two or more of the rules, when such violations lead to a cluster infection or when a previous violator is found repeating the infringement.

The government has issued an advance notice until April 16 on revisions to infectious disease prevention regulations, such as imposing a ten-day shutdown on violators without a previous warning.

Businesses caught a second time will face a 20-day closure, a three-month suspension the third time, and so on, ultimately facing a permanent closure upon repeat offenses.

The government also plans to hold violators criminally accountable.