내일 수도권 2.5단계 연장여부 발표…당국 "느리지만 확산세 감소 유지"<br /><br />South Korea continues a downward trend in new COVID-19 infections, but health officials are still on alert as the numbers may grow over the weekend.<br />Now, all eyes are on whether the nation will decide to extend the current stricter social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area.<br />Our Bae Eun-ji reports.<br />South Korea reported 136 new cases on Saturday, 40 cases less than the 176 reported the previous day.<br />The numbers did not go below 100, but remained under 200 for the tenth straight day.<br />Among them, 118 are local transmissions,... and 18 are imported cases.<br />The total number of confirmed cases in Korea now stands at 22-thousand-55.<br />This is a significant drop from late August, when the nation saw over four hundred daily new cases.<br />Although this means the country is slowly seeing a declining trend in infections, officials warned of complacency.<br />"We ask all citizens to comply with the level two-point-five social distancing guidelines over this weekend. We have to stop further deaths from COVID-19, and certainly must not let the outbreak last until the influenza season comes in winter."<br />The government will announce on Sunday whether to extend the level 2-point-5 social distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area,... which were already extended once to be in effect until this weekend.<br />The nation is also considering a new way of extending the same level of social distancing measures,... while easing restrictions on some facilities such as restaurants, coffee shops, and private educational institutes.<br />Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.<br />
