Fears that South Korea is entering coronavirus SECOND WAVE as largest spike in cases since April 5 prompts country to re-impose social restrictions

South Korea will reimpose some social distancing rules from tomorrow after reporting its largest single-day spike in coronavirus infections in almost two months.

Museums, parks and art galleries in the capital Seoul will shutter their doors from Friday with companies urged to reintroduce flexible working hours, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said.

It comes after 79 new cases of the virus were reported on Thursday, the country's largest single-day rise since April 5, sparking fears of a second wave.

The news will be worrisome for European leaders attempting to emerge from full lockdown, because measures they are using to prevent a second wave are similar to those used in South Korea - which has been widely praised for its response.

South Korea reported 79 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, its largest single-day rise in almost two months, with a majority of cases linked to a warehouse near Seoul (pictured)

The country's health minister hinted that social distancing may have to be reinforced as it becomes difficult to track and test cases (pictured, warehouse workers are tested)

'We have decided to strengthen all quarantine measures in the [Seoul] metropolitan area for two weeks from tomorrow to June 14,' he said.

Citizens were also advised to refrain from social gatherings or going to crowded places - including restaurants and bars - while religious facilities were asked to be extra vigilant with quarantine measures.

There will be no new delays, however, to the phased re-opening of schools that is currently underway.

'The next two weeks are crucial to prevent the spread of the infection in the metropolitan area,' Park said.

'We will have to return to social distancing if we fail.'

The health minister said the government will be forced to re-impose an all-out social distancing campaign if the country sees more than 50 new cases for at least seven consecutive days.

The majority of the cases reported Thursday are linked to the warehouse of an internet retailer located in Bucheon, on the outskirts of Seoul.

Sixty nine of the 79 new cases were detected among the warehouse's 4,100 staff, with around 80 per cent of workers tested.  

'We are expecting the number of new cases linked to the warehouse to continue rising until today as we wrap up related tests,' vice health minister Kim Gang-lip said.

It comes after another 250 cases were linked to nightclubs in Seoul in early May. 

Social distancing rules have been relaxed in South Korea and facilities such as museums and churches have reopened. 

Some professional sports - including baseball and soccer - started new seasons earlier this month, albeit behind closed doors.

Students have been returning to classes since last week, with more than 2million pupils going back to classes on Wednesday this week. 

South Korea never went into full lockdown but did enforce social distancing rules which have been slowly relaxed in recent weeks, with 2million children going back to school yesterday

The country endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside mainland China, but managed to bring it under control thanks to extensive testing and contact tracing of every case.

South Korea never imposed a total lockdown of the kind seen in Europe, although it did impose strict social distancing rules in March - which are now being relaxed.

In total the country has reported 11,344 cases and 269 deaths, one of the lowest totals of any developed nation. 

Despite avoiding full lockdown, South Korea's economy is still expected to suffer the effects of coronavirus - though the drop will be far less severe than elsewhere.

The country's central bank forecast a decline of 0.2 per cent in GDP this year on Thursday, a marked downgrade on the 2.1 per cent growth predicted in February as the virus was still spreading.

By comparison the European economy - which is only now emerging from full lockdown - is expected to fall by up to 12 per cent this year, the European Central Bank has said. 

The Bank of Korea made its forecast as it cut interest rates to 0.5 per cent in an attempt to ease the strain on hard-hit businesses.

'The growth of the domestic economy has slowed significantly' due to the coronavirus, and is expected to be sluggish and unpredictable in future, the central bank said in a statement.

'The employment situation has deteriorated,' it added, with many in the service sector losing jobs, while 'exports fell significantly'.

It is the second rate cut in three months, after a surprise 50-basis-point reduction to 0.75 percent in March.

The South is highly trade-dependent and saw its worst economic performance in more than a decade in the first quarter as the epidemic struck.

Gross domestic product shrank 1.4 percent year-on-year during the January to March period, its biggest decline since the fourth quarter of 2008 during the global financial crisis.