코로나19 신규확진 연일 세 자릿수..."수도권 긴급대응반 운영"<br /><br /> Our top story this lunchtime.<br />South Korea is continuing to see a second wave of COVID-19 infections in Seoul and its surrounding areas.<br />The authorities are sharply tightening measures in a bid to control the spread.<br />Officials are blaming much of it on cluster infections that led to secondary infections throughout the country. <br />Kim Do-yeon reports. <br /> South Korea reported 246 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday with 235 of them being local transmissions.<br />It marks the fifth straight day for new daily cases to be in the triple digits... totaling nearly a thousand in five days alone.<br />The majority of them have been popping up in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi-do Province. <br />As a result, the government has formed an emergency response unit for the capital area. <br /> The unit will work to contain secondary spread throughout the area.<br />They have divided the region into 13 sectors and 45 teams with 190 members in total have been assigned to various roles. <br />In addition, health authorities will bring more hospital beds into the area in case beds start running low due to the rising number of cases. <br /><br />"This week will be a critical period to stop the spread becoming a big wave. From our experience, our response via our quarantine and medical systems has improved, but we can't guarantee a quick end to the rapid growth in cluster infections."<br /> . .<br /><br /> The new cases are mostly linked with clusters from churches.<br />Infections linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul are nearly 400 with 15% positive rate from the tested,... and those linked to the Woori Jeil Church in Yongin have surpassed 120. <br />The authorities say churches that do not abide by quarantine rules and refuse to cooperate with tracing efforts will be dealt with aggressively. <br /> In addition, clusters at a police station and a coffee shop are under close scrutiny as they have experienced cases and have the potential to become cluster zones.<br />So far, South Korea has reported 15,761 cases with 306 deaths. <br />Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News <br />
