488 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday as gov't extends social distancing measures

코로나19 어제 488명 신규확진…현 거리두기 2주간 연장 It's been months now that South Korea has been unable to significantly bring down the daily number of new COVID-19 cases. So the authorities have extended the current level of distancing for another two weeks. Kim Do-yeon reports. The South Korean health authorities said Friday that the current level of social distancing will be maintained for two more weeks. Right now, the capital region is at level 2 and the rest of the country is at 1.5... and those restrictions were due to end on March 14th. This comes as South Korea, on Friday, reported 488 new COVID-19 cases with 467 of them being transmitted locally. For the past two months, the number has been hovering around this range. Looking at the past week, the average is above 400, which is the threshold for a stricter set of rules. Making the announcement, South Korea's Prime Minster said this is a critical moment. "There is a fierce battle now between the momentum building for a fourth wave and our virus prevention efforts. If we back down, the protections we have fought so hard to build will be crushed and a fourth wave could become a reality." This means most rules will stay as they are, including the ban on restaurants letting customers dine in after 10 PM. But a few rules will be eased starting Monday. There will be a little more flexibility in the ban on gatherings of five or more people the families of the bride and groom, for example, can met for pre-wedding introductions if there are no more than eight people. Up to eight family members can also get together if some of them are children five or younger. In addition, venues that host traditional first birthday parties for babies, celebrations known as doljanchi,... will be able to host up to 99 people at each one. And public baths, which have been closed for months, will now be allowed to operate until 10 PM but under strict guidelines. "The fight against COVID-19 has been long. We want to ease the restrictions so that we can keep fighting... because we can't keep stopping and starting our daily routines." In the meantime, officials will be proactively inspecting businesses that host groups of people, like singing rooms and gyms, to make sure the guidelines are being strictly adhered to. They'll also conduct mass testing at work places with lots of foreign nationals. The government has also decided to extend the ban on flights from the UK until April 1st. Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News. #COVID19 #government #social_distancing 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2021-03-12, 17:00 (KST)