South Korea has decided to extend the current toughest social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area for two more weeks to contain the continued spread of COVID-19. 

The ban on private gatherings of three or more people after 6 p.m. will also remain in place for two more weeks. 

Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol announced the decision on Friday during a government meeting, saying that the nation has to reduce private gatherings and travel to contain the virus. 

The highest Level Four social distancing measures in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, which were supposed to end on Sunday, will remain in place until August 8.

The minister said that the average of daily infections was around 660 in the third wave of the epidemic late last year, but the figure jumped to one-thousand-410 in the latest wave. 

He asked the public to cancel unnecessary meetings and gatherings and to refrain from traveling on the weekend.