이틀 연속 500명대 확진, 정총리, "재확산 본격화 양상"
Our top story this lunchtime.
South Korea looks to be on the brink of another major outbreak of COVID-19.
Over the past 24 hours, the country has reported more than 500 new cases.
It's the second day in a row for the figure to be that high.
Officials say South Korea is at a critical point in its fight against the virus.
Kim Do-yeon reports.
South Korea reported 569 new cases on Friday staying above the 500 mark for the second day straight with cluster infections at religious facilities, saunas and small gatherings.
Of the new cases, 525 were locally transmitted.
The capital region accounted for 337 of the local transmissions, and the rest were scattered all around the nation.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday that we're at a crossroads in the fight against the virus.
"This is the highest number since last March, which was eight months ago, now the signs of a full fledged resurgence are appearing... If we don't stop the spread now, experts' concerns about daily cases reaching 1,000 could become a reality."
He also pleaded for people to actively participate in social distancing over the weekend.
While the capital region enters the weekend with a heightened social distancing level of 2, the country's standard for upping the distancing level to 2.5 is 400 to 500 daily cases.
Right now, the country's average of new cases from the past week is 383.
With more COVID-19 cases, there is also a rise in the number of patients in critical condition.
The Prime Minister requested that the responsible parties make sure that medical infrastructure remains available.
"We have some room to accommodate critically ill patients at the moment. But because Gangwon-do Province, Jeolla-do Provinces, and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province have a small number of hospital beds, if the number of cases spikes, we could run out of beds."
Currently there are 77 patients deemed critically ill as of Friday.
One more death was reported, putting the death toll at 516.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
