South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has ordered a revamp of social distancing guidelines in a bid to win greater public support for efforts to stop local transmission of the new coronavirus.

The country’s five-tier social distancing system has faced a public backlash for imposing unfair restrictions and curfews on specific businesses, including a ban on indoor restaurant dining after 9pm.

“Rather than introduce the guidelines unilaterally, we should make the virus prevention rules along with the public,” Chung told an intra-agency meeting.

While South Korea had initial success in containing the virus without drastic lockdowns, an incremental approach to social distancing and more rigid guidelines were criticised for leaving it scrambling to contain a third wave of transmissions, Reuters reported.