South Korea expects to see more than 3-thousand new COVID-19 infections on first Monday of 2022

어젯밤 9시까지 전국서 2,977명 확진...오늘 3천명대 중반 예상 We start with the coronavirus situation in South Korea. It's the first Monday of 2022 and we're seeing a continuous downward trend in the number of new infections. But officials say it's still too soon to let our guard down. That's because the spread of Delta and the highly transmissible variant Omicron still pose a threat. For more on this and other updates, our reporter Shin Ye-eun in the studio. Good to see you and Happy New Year Ye-eun. Happy New Year to you too. Ye-eun, let's start with the situation locally. How many new infections are we expecting today. Mok-yeon we're expecting to see the daily tally surpass 3-thousand. Up until 9 PM Sunday, we recorded 2-thousand 9-hundred 77 infections. This was down by 6-hundred-4 from what had been reported the same time the day before...and also down by over 1-thousand 9-hundred from a week ago. But as you mentioned, the Omicron variant continues to be a concern. Yesterday we saw 93 fresh Omicron cases...bringing the total tally above 12-hundred. In just a month, South Korea's total Omicron tally has surpassed 1-thousand...a transmission rate 2-point-5 times faster than Delta. South Korean authorities have introduced with some new virus prevention measures. They take effect today, give us the details.... Starting with the new measures... From Monday, a new policy on vaccine passes will take effect to encourage more people to get their booster shots. An expiration date will be implemented...which means vaccine passes will only be valid for six months... for those who've completed a one or two-dose vaccine regimen. In other words, after six months have passed since a person received their final jab...they would now need to go get a booster shot in order to enter most public places. This includes those who were fully vaccinated before July. A one-week grace period will be imposed to avoid any confusion. But once that grace period is over, those who violate this policy will be fined. Like always, people can certify their vaccination status when visiting different public facilities, like restaurants and cafes... using the COOV app. The app will show whether one has been fully vaccinated for more than 14 days...or whether it has been over 180 days since they've received their last jabs. And devices reading vaccination statuses will make a "ding-dong" sound if a person is not fully vaccinated or when their vaccination certificate has expired. To avoid any complications, authorities have asked everyone to update their COOV app to the latest version in advance. Also, authorities have decided to extend vaccine passes for department stores and big supermarkets from January 10th. And extend them to 12 to 18 years olds from March 1st. We also had the time extension of distancing measures. Tell us what they are and when they run through. The extended measures include limiting social gatherings to four people nationwide and restricting business operation hours to 9 or 10 pm. 9 pm for restaurants,, cafes, indoor sports facilities. And 10 pm for academies, PC rooms or party rooms. There has been a change in the operation hours for movie theaters and performance halls, though. Previously these venues were required to close at 10 p.m. But now they can allow customers to enter up to 9 pm as long as performances and movies end before midnight. All these restrictions have been extended for another two weeks...meaning they will last until January 16th. We are into year three of this pandemic now. And a common question lots are asking ois when this might finally end. I think it's a question many want an answer to. Unfortunately, many local experts said it will be difficult to see a complete end of COVID-19 any time soon. Especially since we continue to see new mutations of the virus. But some good news is that we've passed major milestones in the development of COVID-19 treatments. Experts have said the more effective the vaccines or treatments are, the more likely we will be able to return to life without as many social distancing restrictions. Many said COVID-19 should be treated like a common flu...which means that we should no longer separate those infected with COVID-19 and treat them at hospitals. Instead, COVID-19 patients should be treated at home with medications to stop them from developing critically ill symptoms. South Korea has already secured more than 360-thousand courses of anti-viral pills from Pfizer and around 2-hundred-40-thousand from Merck. They will secure an extra 400-thousand at the beginning of this month. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said these oral treatments will be available for use...as early as mid-January or the end of this month. ... #COVID19 #Coronavirus #SouthKorea 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2021-01-03, 08:00 (KST)