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