Seoul, Dec 21 (IANS): The municipal governments of South Korea's capital area Monday decided to ban the gatherings of five or more people to contain the fast spread of the novel coronavirus Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon.

Under the new administrative orders in the Seoul metropolitan area, only gatherings and meetings of four or fewer people will be allowed both indoors and outdoors from Wednesday through January 3, 2021, reports Xinhua news agency.

The single exception will be wedding and funeral services, in which 50 or fewer people can gather under the current Level 2.5 social-distancing guidelines.

The ban, coming ahead of the year-end peak season for gatherings and events, is tougher than the highest Level 3 social-distancing rules, in which the gatherings of 10 or more people were prohibited.

The government raised its five-tier social-distancing rules to the second-highest Level 2.5 for three weeks through December 28 in the Seoul capital area amid the unabated Covid-19 resurgence.

On Monday, South Korea reported 926 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of infections to 50,591.

The daily caseload fell below 1,000 in six days, which was mainly attributable to fewer tests over the weekend.

Out of the new cases, 70 per cent were residents in the capital area.

The country's death toll currently stood at 698.