S. Korea sees daily COVID-19 tally in six-figures for first time; authorities partially ease...

S. Korea sees daily COVID-19 tally in six-figures for first time; authorities partially ease distancing measures on Friday 금요일 신규확진 109,831명...새 거리두기 내일부터 적용...대선 이후인 내달 13일까지 Right... Soa... thank you... for now. Here on the local front. As mentioned... earlier this week... authorities have shared...a few changes... to social restrictions... on this Friday. SHIN YE-EUN ... is here... with details. YE-EUN ... welcome. Thank you for having me, Sunny. Let's begin... with... the SHIFT... then. Sunny,... the Prime Minister announced in a briefing on Friday... a change in our distancing measures... that will take effect... starting this weekend. Contrary to recent speculation,... social gathering caps will stay... at a maximum of six people. The only change... is that businesses will be allowed to stay open until 10 PM,... a one-hour extension from the current 9 PM rule. "We've decided to maintain the current framework of social distancing, but slightly adjust some measures in consideration of people's livelihoods and our medical capacity." This is because we recently saw... a big jump in the number of cases. As Soa mentioned,... Korea reported... yet another record-high daily figure... at nearly 110-thousand. The country's updated social distancing guidelines... will last for three weeks... starting tomorrow. Before Friday's decision,... Korea's special COVID-19 transition committee had gathered to discuss... whether easing restrictions... would be a step in the right direction. While economists and business owners said... social distancing measures should be eased immediately... officials working on the medical front said... now is not the time. Those who are opposed to easing said,... if restrictions were to be lifted,... our case counts may skyrocket,... creating a situation that the government isn't prepared for. And this... is actually the prevailing opinion... among many health experts. "We'd be risking too much if we ease measures right now. Measures need to be eased after we confirm the surge has come down,... and we're certain that our medical capacity can handle the situation." Meanwhile... the Prime Minister... I understand... has maintained... the government's support... for vaccine passes? That' right. He didn't sway too far... from an earlier statement... by senior health official Son Young-rae,... who said vaccine passes remain essential... in our containment strategy. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said... they will continue to be used... at most facilities for now. But the possibility... of scrapping vaccine pass requirements... is still on the table for Korean health authorities. Also,... as Son Young-rae had hinted earlier this week,... starting tomorrow,... which is a Saturday here,... QR codes will only be used... for vaccine verification... instead of visitor record-keeping. This is part of the government's move to discontinue... active contact tracing. The government has also put on hold... the extension of vaccine passes... to children aged 12 to 18,... which was originally scheduled for March. But, following Friday's announcement,... vaccine passes for teens... will be further pushed back... to April 1st. This comes... as health authorities are still waiting on a final ruling... from the Seoul Administrative Court,... regarding their appeal against an injunction... which was granted to suspend the government's vaccine pass mandates... on teenagers. And... what looks to be... the fate... of our social restrictions... post-OMICRON? The Prime Minister said social distancing measures would be eased... once the surge is contained. In order for that to happen,... we would have to see... the peak of the Omicron wave first. "According to experts, we may see Omicron peak by the end of February or mid March. After that, we'll see Omicron cases go down...and then be able to ease social distancing measures like other countries have so that people can return to normal life." In order for this to work,... the Prime Minister called on the public... to get their booster shots... if they haven't done so yet. The Prime Minister noted... how Omicron hasn't triggered a drastic increase... in the number of deaths and critically-ill patients in Korea,... with more than half its population... having received their boosters. Also,... from next Monday,... those over 18 who haven't been fully vaccinated... can book their Novavax shots... which will be first administered on March 7th. These vaccines will also be used as boosters... and mix-and match shots. All right... Ye-eun... thank you... for now. But... do stay... for our broader talks. #COVID19 #social_distancing #restriction 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2022-02-18, 14:00 (KST)