Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS): South Korea will reduce the maximum private gathering size to four people and restore a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurant and cafe operating hours, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced on Thursday, as the government rolled back its "living with Covid-19" scheme amid surging new cases.

Under the new measures, which will be in effect from Saturday until January 2, 2022, the use of restaurants and cafes will be restricted to up to four vaccinated people per visit and those who have not been inoculated will be able to use the facilities alone or request take-out or delivery, Yonhap News Agency quoted Kim as saying said.

Bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues will also be subject to the 9 p.m. curfew ,while movie theatres, concert halls and internet cafes, however, will be able to operate until 10 p.m., Kim said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

The differentiation is based on the extent to which masks can be worn and whether there is eating inside.

The measures represent a sharp reversal of the government's "living with Covid-19" scheme under which all business curfews were lifted while the cap on private gatherings was raised considerably before being lowered again to six in the capital area and eight elsewhere in the country as of last week.

The abrupt change comes as South Korea has seen a surge in coronavirus infections, along with the number of critical cases and Covid-19 deaths.

Daily case numbers have been approaching the 8,000s, while fatalities hit an all-time high of 94 on Tuesday.

Kim said the government will provide additional financial assistance to businesses amid the widened implementation of the "vaccine pass" system, which requires visitors to present proof of vaccination or a negative test result.

The assistance will be on top of compensation for losses caused by the restricted business hours, and details will be announced later.