Now for the latest on the African swine fever outbreak that continues to spread in the northern regions of South Korea,... near the inter-Korean border.<br />With the latest case confirmed just a moment ago,... there are now seven confirmed cases of the disease, which is harmless to people but highly fatal to pigs.<br />To get some more updates, let's connect to our Kim Jae-hee who is coming to us live from Ganghwa County in Incheon,... where the sixth case has been confirmed.<br />So Jae-hee, what's the latest?<br /><br />Hi, Ji-yoon. I'm near the farm in Ganghwa County where the sixth case of the African swine fever was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.<br />And just a few minutes ago, another case was confirmed in Ganghwa County, the same region.<br />As you can see, the entrance is blocked to prevent outsiders from entering the affected area.<br />The farm is just 6-point-6 kilometers away from the third confirmed case in Gimpo, and 8-point-3 kilometers away from the fifth confirmed case, which is at another farm in Ganghwa County.<br />Inspections are currently underway for other suspected case reported in Gyeonggi-do Province.<br />In a situation like this, preventing further spread of the disease is the top priority, of course. What measures are in place at the moment?<br />A 48-hour nationwide standstill on all pig farms, feed factories and slaughterhouses was supposed to be lifted as of 12PM today, but has been extended for another 48 hours.<br />The entire province of Gyeonggi-do is now under quarantine... as is the city of Incheon and Gangwon-do Province.<br />Related authorities are also currently inspecting pig farms and livestock-related facilities in 154 cities and counties... as they prepare to disinfect them.<br />Since the first case was confirmed last week, the total number of pigs that will have to be put down has now reached nearly 60-thousand.<br />One fifth of the pigs in Ganghwa County will have to be slaughtered.<br />Gyeonggi-do is also planning to implement six key countermeasures, such as installing more quarantine control posts and requesting cooperation from local military units.<br />The Blue House has also launched a task force to get the latest information on the fever from agencies and come up with swift response measures.<br /><br />It's not clear how the highly contagious disease entered South Korea, but a case was reported in North Korea back in May, so authorities are inspecting inter-Korean waterways.<br />That's all I have at the moment, Back to you, Ji-yoon.<br />
