South Korea shuts down 2,100 nightclubs and hostess bars after new coronavirus spike is blamed on clubbers who went out last weekend as soon as country relaxed lockdown rules (6 Pics)

South Korea's capital has shut down more than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after dozens of coronavirus infections were linked to club goers who went out last weekend as the country relaxed social distancing guidelines.

The measures imposed Saturday by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon came after the national government urged entertainment venues around the nation to close or otherwise enforce anti-virus measures, including distancing, temperature checks, keeping customer lists and requiring employees to wear masks.

Park said the entry bans on the facilities will be maintained until the city concludes that risks of infection have been meaningfully lowered.

A 29-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus after visiting three clubs in the Itaewon district of Seoul, South Korea, last Saturday. He has been linked to all but one of 18 new cases 

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or KCDC, said earlier in the day that 18 new cases were reported in the 24 hours to midnight Friday, all but one of them linked to a 29-year-old man who visited three clubs in Seoul's Itaewon district last Saturday before testing positive days later.

But Park said 16 more cases were confirmed in Seoul alone in the following hours. He said this brought the total number of infections linked to club goers to 40 - 27 in Seoul, 12 in neighbouring Incheon and Gyeonggi and one in the southern port city of Busan.

The KCDC, which compiles data from local governments, couldn't immediately confirm Park's numbers. But senior KCDC official Kwon Joon-wook raised concerns that the club goers could possibly spread 'secondary infections from wherever they live.' 

The measures imposed Saturday by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon came after the national government urged entertainment venues around the nation to close or otherwise enforce anti-virus measures

The number of infections could grow as health workers are scrambling to trace contacts of club goers. Park said health workers have been attempting to contact some 1,940 people who were listed as visitors to the three Itaewon clubs and other venues nearby, but they have so far been able to reach only 637 of them.

South Korea has confirmed at least 10,840 cases of the coronavirus, including 256 deaths.

Fewer cases in previous weeks had allowed for social distancing guidelines to be relaxed and a phased reopening of schools.

A notice of guidelines that entertainment facilities should follow is posted at the entrance of a nightclub in Seoul yesterday

The country were the first to re-start their top football league again, K-League, with matches taking place from May 8 behind closed doors.  

Jeonbuk Motors took on Suwon Bluewings on May 8 and won 1-0, scoring after 83 minutes. The game was originally scheduled for February 29.    

The rules say there are no pre-match handshakes and players have been warned they cannot speak to one another during the course of a game while coaches are to wear face masks at all times during games. 

Incheon United captain Kim Do-hyeok said that not talking to team-mates is impossible and will pose difficulties for his side. 

Suwon Samsung Bluewings's goalkeeper jumps up to catch the ball in the match yesterday. South Korea's K-League was the first top flight football to return 

He added that rules such as not spitting they could do no problem but added: 'If we can't have conversations on the field, we may as well not play at all'.  

In mid-April, South Korea appeared to be dealing well with the outbreak and was widely praised for mass testing and its contact-tracing strategy which other countries sought to emulate. 

They reported just eight new cases on April 19. It was the first time the nation's daily increased dropped to single figures in two months.  

It had 10,661 cases of the virus which, at that point, had killed 234 people in South Korea. There were 8,042 patients recovered and released from quarantine. 

The football league has returned behind closed doors. Cheer banners from fans are placed on seats in the stadium prior to the opening of the game 

There are no pre-match handshakes and players are not allowed to talk to each other during the game while coaches are required to wear face masks 

The country reported zero new domestic coronavirus cases on April 30.  

There were fears in South Korea throughout April that people were becoming 'reinfected' as people who had had coronavirus tested positive again. 

South Korean officials later revealed that 292 patients feared to have been 'reinfected' were given false positive results.  

President Moon Jae-in said: 'We must not loosen our guard until the last confirmed patient is recovered.'

Officials warned of the possibility of a 'quiet spread' when people eased up on social distancing despite the rapid downward trend. 

Seoul started its testing programme when the numbers were still small, telling companies to develop testing kits as early as January 27.