S. Korea reports 209,169 new COVID-19 infections on Monday

신규확진 12만명 감소한 20만 9169명...사적모임 8명까지, 청소년 3차 접종 본격화 We start with the COVID-19 situation here in Korea. Though we're seeing a drop in the number of infections after what health experts have called the "peak" last week ...authorities remain on high alert, while at the same time slightly easing social distancing guidelines. Shin Ye-eun reports. South Korea on Monday reported 209-thousand 1-hundred 69 new infections... bringing the total number of infections to over 9.5 million. Monday's figure was a drop of more than 120-thousand from a day ago. And it was the first time in 10 days... that the daily tally came down to the 200-thousand range. However, the number of critically ill patients has stayed above the 1-thousand mark for two weeks straight. The exact tally is 1-thousand-1-hundred-30. 3-hundred 29 more people have died... bringing the total death toll to 12-thousand 7-hundred 57. While South Korean officials have recognized that these COVID-19 figures have risen... they say it's not to the extent that threatens its medical capacity. "While we have seen an increase in the number of critically ill patients and deaths, our cumulative fatality rate is only 0.15 percent. This is one quarter that of France, and much lower than the U.S., which has a rate of 1.22%." In a bid to get life back to normal... authorities have also decided to ease some social distancing guidelines. The main change is to allow larger private gatherings of up to eight people. This is two more than what had been a maximum of six people up to Sunday. Business hours for restaurants and cafes will remain the same THOUGH... having to close at 11 pm. Health authorities have decided to modify their antivirus measures NOW... despite concerns from some health experts that the scale of the pandemic could expand amid the surge of Omicron. Officials said though, that they would only make slight tweaks... to the extent that it doesn't make the situation worse or increase strain on the medical system. This explains why they've decided to NOT extend business operation hours from 11pm to midnight. Another new COVID-19 measure to kick off from Monday is giving boosters to teens aged 12 to 17 who had their second vaccine shot more than 3 months ago. Shin Ye-eun, Arirang News. #COVID19 #Coronavirus #SouthKorea 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2022-03-21, 12:00 (KST)