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Customers at a Starbucks in Seoul’s Mapo District get their coffee to go amid heightened social distancing measures on Aug. 30. (Lee Jong-keun, staff photographers)

The Seoul Metropolitan Government designated the period from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 as a weeklong “10 million-person standstill” with the central government’s implementation of “quasi-Level 3 social distancing measures.” On the first day after it took effect, citizens of Seoul and other communities in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA) seemed to be calmly adjusting to the more stringent guidelines.

In an online briefing on Aug. 30 after the surprise implementation of “quasi-Level 3 social distancing” (Level 2.5) for the SCA, acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jung-hyup said, “From today until Sept. 6, we will be having a week of standstill for 10 million people.”

Seo went on to plead with the public to “resolutely commit to giving up daily activities and thoroughly observe everyday quarantine measures for the next week.”

“In particular, we will focus on restricting access to closely packed, densely crowded, and unventilated environments to young people, with people in their 20s to 40s accounting for 38.5% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week,” he added.

A key element of the “quasi-Level 3” distancing measures is the restriction of crowd facilities to minimize contact among people. At franchise coffee shops in the SCA, customers cannot consume food or beverages on the premises and are only allowed to place orders for takeout and delivery. Coffee franchises like Starbucks and Coffee Bean have been the settings for numerous infections as predominantly young people have continued to flock there even after the virus’s resurgence. Dozens of patrons at a Starbucks by Yadang Station in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, tested positive after being seated on the same floor as another customer earlier this month. The original patient spent two and a half hours at the cafe before being diagnosed. Another infection cluster occurred at a Hollys Coffee branch in Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood.

A large sign reading “Takeout Only” was posted at the entrance of a Starbucks near the Seoul National University station in Seoul’s Gwanak District on the morning of Aug. 30. Ordinarily, it’s the most popular café in the area. But on that day, it was nearly devoid of customers, with all of the tables and chairs moved off to one side. As customers entered, an employee waiting by the entrance took their temperature and scanned QR codes to keep a digital visitor log. Other employees repeatedly asked patrons to “please maintain at least two meters’ distance” from others as they waited in line to order.

Restaurants in the SCA are allowed to operate normally during daytime hours, but can only accept takeout and delivery orders between the hours of 9 pm and 5 am. Perhaps out of concerns over COVID-19’s spread, many restaurant frequenters could be seen placing takeout orders during the daytime as well. One knife-cut noodle restaurant in Seoul’s Dongjak District was operating its own “drive-thru” service that afternoon, with customers placing orders by telephone and transferring the funds digitally before driving to the restaurant, where an employee handed over their orders.

“We’ve been taking orders this way because of the customers who have been reluctant to visit restaurants since the virus [outbreak],” a restaurant employee explained.

By Lee Jae-ho and Song Gyung-hwa, staff reporters

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