수도권 감염 비상, 당국 "악화시 거리두기 상향조치 불가피"<br /><br />South Korea's health authorities are pointing to the rising number of Covid-19 local transmissions as a huge source of concern.<br />For the second straight day, the country has reported more than 50 new daily cases.<br />Health authorities here warn, the eased social distancing may need to be snapped back up if the trend were to continue.<br />Kim Jiyeon starts us off tonight.<br />South Korea confirmed 56 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday,... raising the total to 14-thousand-770.<br />This is the second straight day the number of new infections has been higher than 50.<br />A majority of the new cases were transmitted locally,... attributed to new cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area,... and to churches, schools and nursing homes.<br />According to the city government, some of the cases have been traced to meetings held earlier this month by employees of the fast-food chain Lotteria in at least eight parts of Seoul.<br />"In fact, right now, I think the situation is serious. The number of confirmed cases is rising during the summer vacation season. Things are volatile right now especially in Seoul and the surrounding region."<br />The health authorities warned that they could have to raise the level of social distancing measures from the current level one to to level two... on the three-tier system.<br />The level-two social distancing measures include a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.<br />Also, fewer people would be able to attend school in person... and spectators would not be able to attend sports events.<br />Regarding vaccines, the authorities said clinical trials on three locally developed candidates are expected to begin this year.<br />Those are being developed by the companies SK Bioscience, Genexine and GeneOne Life Science.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
