Gyms and fitness clubs in and around South Korea's capital Seoul now have limit on what kind of music they can play. government has set maximum speed on tunes allowed. This is to limit spread of Covid-19. There are the beginnings of new coronavirus wave in South Korea. The new measures are to stop people breathing too quickly or splashing sweat on each other. Health officials have told gyms not to play music with tempo higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm). songs Bad Romance by Lady Gaga and Le Freak by group Chic fall just under limit at 119 bpm. K-pop fans will be relieved to know they can work out to BTS. The BTS hit Dynamite is around 115 bpm.
South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum warned nation that the country had reached "maximum crisis level". President Moon Jae-in said he felt sorry for business owners affected by rules. He said: "I can't help but feel very sorry to once again ask citizens for little more patience." Many gym owners are unhappy with new rules. One said: "My biggest question is whether playing classical music or songs by BTS has been proved to have any impact on spreading virus." He asked: "Many people use their own earphones...these days, so how do you control their playlists?" Another new rule is that treadmills will be limited to maximum speed of 6kph.
