Seoul, Apr 15 (IANS): South Korea decided on Friday to lift all social-distancing rules next week, except for the mask mandate, as the Covid pandemic was estimated to have peaked last month.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a pandemic-tackling meeting that the business curfew at midnight and the cap on 10 people for private gatherings will be all lifted from next Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The 299-person limit on events and rallies as well as the 70-per cent capacity cap on religious activities will be lifted from April 18, while eating food will be permitted inside movie theatres, indoor sports facilities and religious facilities from April 25.

Kim said that wearing mask indoors will be inevitable for a considerable time, noting that decision will be made on whether to lift the outdoor mask mandate two weeks later.

The health authorities estimated that the resurgence, caused by the spread of the Omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2, peaked in the middle of March.

The government will adjust the four-tier infectious disease level of Covid from Class 1 to 2 in phases over a four-week period to allow patients to be treated at local clinics and hospitals without quarantine.

In the latest tally, the country reported 125,846 new Covid cases for the past 24 hours.

The daily caseload was down from 148,443 in the previous day and far lower than 205,312 a week earlier.