SEOUL– South Korea said Friday it plans to provide discount coupons to support ticket prices of professional sports games and accommodation fees in a bid to help spur consumption as it has decided to lift COVID-19 virus restrictions.

The government plans to permit people to watch four kinds of sports games — football, baseball, basketball and volleyball — at half price as it plans to offer the discount coupon program until July, according to the finance ministry.

It will also provide coupons for the use of some 70,000 registered lodging facilities across the nation until early June as demand for travel is expected to increase.

The move is aimed at spurring private spending as the government decided Friday to remove all COVID-19 social distancing rules except the mask mandate amid slowing virus infections.

Starting Monday, business curfews on restaurants, cafes and other small businesses will be lifted, while the limit on the size of private gatherings will also be removed.

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fell to 125,846 Friday after hitting a record high of 621,179 on March 17.

Source: Yonhap News Agency