스키장•정동진 등 주요 관광지 폐쇄...숙박 시설 예약 50% 제한<br /><br />Our starting point tonight: South Korea will limit private social gatherings to fewer than five people and shut down ski resorts and major tourist spots nationwide starting on Christmas Eve as it contends with a surge in coronavirus infections.<br />Bae Eun-ji leads our coverage tonight.<br />South Korea reported 869 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday,... of them 824 were locally transmitted.<br />Health authorities are concerned that the upcoming Christmas holiday season could worsen the country's COVID-19 situation.<br />To prevent another explosive surge in infections, the government has announced a new set of special prevention measures that will be in effect from December 24th to January 3rd.<br />During this period, winter sports facilities, ski resorts and popular year-end tourist spots will be closed.<br />Hotels and guesthouses will only be allowed to have half their rooms available to encourage customers to cancel travel plans.<br />Department stores and large supermarkets will be required to carry out temperature checks on all shoppers... and will not be able to offer food or drink samples.<br />Nursing homes and mental care hospitals will have to restrict visitors... and workers in these facilities are banned from attending private gatherings.<br />Movie theaters are required to seat customers one seat apart from one another, and will be closed from 9PM.<br />As for concert halls, audiences will have to be seated two seats apart from one another.<br />Also, all religious services nationwide will have to be done online, and up to 20 people only can participate in making them.<br />"The purpose of these special prevention measures is pretty clear. We ask everyone to cancel all holiday travel plans and personal gatherings... and stay home."<br />Some officials are likening these measures to using tweezers to precisely target places that could become virus hotbeds... and hoping they will help contain the spread of the virus.<br />Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.<br />
