Casino operators across South Korea are reportedly facing the real prospect of being forced to temporarily close their venues yet again owing to a recent spike in local coronavirus infections.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the nation is said to be considering the implementation of yet another widespread lockdown after recording 1,212 new coronavirus cases yesterday. The source detailed that this daily swell represented the highest since Christmas Day of 2020 and pushed the country’s historic tally up to almost 163,000 infections.

Complacency cause:

South Korea is home to over 52 million people and the fresh surge in coronavirus cases is reportedly being blamed largely on complacency among younger adults and the increased transmissibility of the ailment’s new ‘delta variant.’ Around 10% of the country’s population has purportedly been vaccinated against the potentially-lethal illness although the majority of these shots are known to have gone into the arms of those over the age of 60.

Official omen:

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum reportedly used an official Wednesday address to urge his fellow citizens to get vaccinated against coronavirus so as ‘to protect not just yourself but everyone in your family, friends, school and the country.’ The 63-year-old leader purportedly moreover proclaimed that Seoul has recently been a particular hotbed of new infections and warned that his administration may be forced to implement another nationwide lockdown if the current state of affairs does not improve.

Kim reportedly stated…

“If the situation is not under control after monitoring for two to three days, it might leave us with no choice but to impose the strictest of all social distancing levels.”

Earlier exclusion:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that South Korea has chalked up 16 deaths linked to coronavirus in the past week with the recent spike in recorded cases representing the nation’s fourth since the start of the pandemic in January of 2020. The source explained that casinos in and around Seoul, which include the foreigner-only Grand Walkerhill Seoul operation from Paradise Company Limited, were last forced to close their doors in late-November before being permitted to resume reduced operations from March 17.

Protracted prohibitions:

This previous coronavirus-related lockdown reportedly furthermore impacted the same operator’s giant Paradise City development as well as the casinos from Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited inside the Millennium Hilton Seoul and Intercontinental Seoul Coex. This latter firm was purportedly also obliged to shutter its Lotte Hotel Busan gambling enterprise for a twelve-week period from November 24 while the local-friendly Kangwon Land Casino from Kangwon Land Incorporated suffered through a two-month lockdown before being allowed to partially revive business from February 15.