이틀 연속 500명대 확진, 정총리, "재확산 본격화 양상"<br /><br />Our top story this lunchtime.<br />South Korea looks to be on the brink of another major outbreak of COVID-19.<br />Over the past 24 hours, the country has reported more than 500 new cases.<br />It's the second day in a row for the figure to be that high.<br />Officials say South Korea is at a critical point in its fight against the virus.<br />Kim Do-yeon reports.<br />South Korea reported 569 new cases on Friday staying above the 500 mark for the second day straight with cluster infections at religious facilities, saunas and small gatherings.<br />Of the new cases, 525 were locally transmitted.<br />The capital region accounted for 337 of the local transmissions, and the rest were scattered all around the nation.<br />Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday that we're at a crossroads in the fight against the virus.<br />"This is the highest number since last March, which was eight months ago, now the signs of a full fledged resurgence are appearing... If we don't stop the spread now, experts' concerns about daily cases reaching 1,000 could become a reality."<br />He also pleaded for people to actively participate in social distancing over the weekend.<br />While the capital region enters the weekend with a heightened social distancing level of 2, the country's standard for upping the distancing level to 2.5 is 400 to 500 daily cases.<br />Right now, the country's average of new cases from the past week is 383.<br />With more COVID-19 cases, there is also a rise in the number of patients in critical condition.<br />The Prime Minister requested that the responsible parties make sure that medical infrastructure remains available.<br />"We have some room to accommodate critically ill patients at the moment. But because Gangwon-do Province, Jeolla-do Provinces, and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province have a small number of hospital beds, if the number of cases spikes, we could run out of beds."<br />Currently there are 77 patients deemed critically ill as of Friday.<br />One more death was reported, putting the death toll at 516.<br />Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
