◀ anchor ▶
We bring you the first corona news of the new year.
The number of new confirmed cases, which had been increasing at a frightening pace, is now slowly decreasing.
This year, it is predicted that the mutant virus Omicron will lead the spread of the virus.
The distance that was originally scheduled until this weekend has also been extended by two more weeks.
Then, let’s connect with reporters who are out in the field to see what the city atmosphere is like on New Year’s Day.
Reporter Jung Young-hoon!
◀ reporter ▶
Yes, this is the street in Hongdae, Seoul.
◀ anchor ▶
It’s the first day of the new year and the first weekend, are there a lot of people out there?
◀ reporter ▶
This place is usually crowded with people as there are many restaurants and eateries.
As you can see, even though it’s New Year’s Day, the streets are a little less crowded than usual on weekends.
Social distancing, which allows up to 4 people for private gatherings, and 9 pm for restaurants and cafes, seems to have been added to the cold weather.
The social distancing, which was originally scheduled to end this weekend, has been extended by two more weeks until the 16th.
After the end of the year and the beginning of the year, it was difficult to expect special events, and the self-employed also expressed their disappointment.
[최차수/식당 업주]
“Because of ‘With Corona’, I want to be alive, so I’m getting better little by little now, but I had some hope, but the despair is so great (now)…”
The reason the quarantine authorities extended the distance by two more weeks in the new year is because of the spread of the omicron mutation, which transmits two or three times faster than the delta mutation.
With 220 additional confirmed cases of Omicron mutation, the total number increased to 1,114, exceeding the cumulative 1,000 in 32 days.
This is more than twice as fast as it took 78 days for the delta mutation to cross 1,000.
For this reason, the number of new confirmed cases has recently been on the decline, and the nationwide utilization rate of critically ill beds is 63.6%, at the level of 60% for three days in a row. , also tightened the reins of quarantine in the new year.
As of next Monday, the validity period of the quarantine pass has been introduced, so you cannot use the quarantine pass that has passed 6 months since the second vaccination.
Also, from the 10th, the quarantine pass will be applied to department stores and hypermarkets.
The government said that the extended two-week distancing period is the biggest turning point in determining the future quarantine situation, and urged them to refrain from gatherings such as New Year’s parties and to actively participate in the third vaccination.
Until now, this is Jung Young-hoon from MBC News on Hongdae Street.
Video coverage: Byung-soon Yoon / Video editing: Ji-eun Kwon
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