Small Businesses Protest Against Lockdown Extension
03 February, 2021
Smaller businesses have launched another protest as the federal government has extended the 9 pm. curfew for foodstuff and leisure establishments until after the Lunar New Year.
Groups representing owners of billiard rooms, cafés, restaurants, karaoke bars and gyms said Tuesday that they can leave their lights on around the clock in protest but won't serve customers as ordered.
A cafe owner speaks at a protest against lockdown in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on Tuesday.
In early January, owners staged a rally demanding the federal government make them keep their shops open as they believe they have already been designed to bear the brunt of economical difficulties triggers by lockdown.
The groups said the 9 p.m. curfew is a "severe violation" of their rights and actually plays a part in the spread of the virus by forcing buyers to crowd to their establishments between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The lights-on protest will continue until the government allows them to stay open "at least until midnight" and will be offering a far more tailored lockdown order that lets them have a say in drafting quarantine measures.
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise held a press conference before the National Assembly in Yeouido and urged the government to create "special measures" to indemnify them against losses.
At a public debate hosted by the Ministry of Health insurance and Welfare, experts remarked that the existing lockdown "concentrates damage on small businesses, that makes it impossible to keep over the future."
Kim Yoon at Seoul National University cited the Oxford COVID-19 Federal government Response Tracker, which scores the stringency of such actions, and said, "Lockdown is excessively harsh compared to major countries."
Despite having simply 1.1 coronavirus infections for each and every 100,000 persons, Korea's response scored 47 highlights of 100 on the stringency index. That's higher Switzerland's 42 factors with 50.9 infection instances per 100,000 guys, Norway's 41 issues with 8.8 infections, and Japan's 33 details with 1.8 infections.
The index counts categories like facility closures, activity restrictions and financial support.
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