정세균 총리 "지금 확산세 꺾지못하면 3단계 격상 불가피"<br /><br />Our top story this evening.<br />South Korea recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases so far... reaching almost a thousand.<br />The government is considering increasing distancing measures to the highest level if the situation doesn't improve.<br />Jang Tae-hyun reports.<br />South Korea saw 950 cases on Saturday.<br />The country recorded the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases since reporting the first case on January 20th.<br />Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun held an emergency meeting on Saturday and said that if we can't curb the spread of the virus, distancing measures will be increased to the highest level.<br />The government will try to secure as many hospital beds at public hospitals as possible... and offer incentives to private hospitals to encourage their active participation.<br />The daily number was around a hundred in early November, but now, it's close to a thousand.<br />Looking at Saturday's caseload, 928 are local and 22 from overseas.<br />669 cases, over 70 percent of the tally, came from the surrounding provinces of Seoul.<br />91 cases were confirmed at a church in Gangseo-gu, Seoul... and 66 people tested positive at a nursing hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province.<br />In the capital region,... cases have come from restaurants, singing rooms, saunas, medical facilities, and small meetings.<br />Health authorities say that people should remember two things to stay safe.<br />"First, stay safe at home. Second, cancel all in-person meetings. It's inevitable to come in contact with family members at home,... but meeting your best friend and colleagues is never safe. Please cancel those appointments."<br />This so-called "third wave" is more serious than the outbreaks at Daegu in February and the capital region in August.<br />And, the problem now is that there are asymptomatic patients all across the capital region.<br />To deal with the outbreak, the South Korean government will install temporary health clinics all over the capital region so that anyone can get tested, even those without symptoms.<br />At these new testing centers, people can get tested anonymously.<br />The centers will be open from 9 AM to 6 PM every day... starting next Monday and will last for three weeks.<br />Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News.<br />
