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Reporter Kwon Ae-ri, friendly economy.
Reporter Kwon, the level of social distancing has risen again.
In the metropolitan area, I uploaded it once because it was 2+α, but it was uploaded again after a week, right?
<Reporter>
Yes, starting tomorrow (8th), the metropolitan area will be upgraded to the 2.5th stage, and other regions outside the metropolitan area will be upgraded to the second stage.
And this time, it will be held for 3 weeks until December 28th.
The metropolitan area is now in a full-fledged pandemic stage, and it is on the verge of a pandemic nationwide, which is the judgment of the quarantine authorities.
In particular, when raising the distance between the Seoul metropolitan area and the Honam area two weeks ago, the level of increase has not yet been reached, but it is expected to be reached soon.
However, after entering this week and continuing from last week, the metropolitan area has already exceeded the requirements for implementation of the 2.5 stage as of yesterday, even though the national distance was strengthened.
Even across the country, it is right up to the threshold.
Even though there are usually fewer confirmed cases on weekends than on weekdays.
It means that the efforts to keep distance have not yet shown much results, and the spread is fast.
If you keep this trend, the judgment now is that you can start to experience disruptions in critical care within a week.
By strengthening the three-week distancing stage to 2.5 stages in the metropolitan area and 2 stages nationwide, the goal of the authorities is to reduce the number of confirmed patients in the metropolitan area to 150 to 200 per day.
The spread of winter is not so serious that we have set realistic targets at this level right now.
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stage is adjusted to 5 stages, and +α is also intervened in the meantime, so it starts to get confusing for some reason. When it reaches stage 2.5, what will change in the metropolitan area?
<Reporter>
First of all, more and more businesses are discontinued.
The distancing phase we are currently implementing is a new phase in which the quarantine phase was further subdivided at the beginning of last month and the intensity of each phase was gradually adjusted.
The metropolitan area will be upgraded to the 2.5 stage from tomorrow, and in August, karaoke rooms, indoor standing performance halls, and public relations halls, which were not open from the second stage, will all be closed.
There are also no sports facilities such as gyms and billiards.
Earlier, until last week, spinning is not allowed, but it becomes a yoga studio.
From tomorrow in the metropolitan area, no matter what kind of exercise, indoor sports facilities will be closed for three weeks.
The restrictions on the operation of the academy are particularly strict at this time.
In the metropolitan area where step 2.5 is implemented, the operation of academies of any size must be stopped from tomorrow.
The teaching center is no exception.
Originally, there was no content prohibiting the operation of the academy in step 2.5, but we have added this measure to reduce the going out of students on vacation.
However, taking into account the college admissions schedule for the 2021 school year, an exception was made for academies or vocational training academies that prepare for college entrance examinations.
And in August, PC cafes and PC cafes, which were not open at all from stage 2, could be open if only eating inside and keeping the distance between seats in the recent stage 2 was good. Close the door.
Equally, facilities that must be closed after 9 p.m. in Phase 2.5 include a cinema, a game room, a beauty salon, and a reading room.
In addition, marts and large stores with a store area of 300 square meters or more cannot be open after 9 p.m. in Phase 2.5.
The number of people who can gather at the wedding and funeral halls is also limited to 50 people at level 2.5.
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And you can't sit and drink in a cafe, you only need to buy and take it out. This will expand across the country, right?
<Reporter>
Yes, from tomorrow, it will be the second stage nationwide, and only takeout or delivery is possible at cafes anywhere in the country.
The same is done in the metropolitan area going up to step 2.5.
And all over the country, restaurants and bars close after 9pm, and only deliveries.
During the day, you can sit and eat while keeping the distance between your seats.
Unlike in August, buffets are subject to the same rules as other restaurants.
And Seoul has reduced the volume of bus service after 9 p.m. from last Saturday by 30%, and the same goes for the subway from today.
If you try to take the bus or subway after 9pm, you will have to wait a long time.
In addition, the number of students who can attend kindergartens and schools, including high school students who have completed their SAT, should be reduced to less than one-third at step 2.5.
Middle and high schools in Seoul decided to offer only distance classes by the 18th.
What the quarantine authorities are worried about now is that the overall sense of crisis has decreased as the corona situation is prolonged and the social distancing stage has been raised and lowered.
In particular, high school 3rd graders who have completed the SAT will have no choice but to dissolve the atmosphere, and there is also concern that such or other contacts may increase during the occasional screening process.
Experts say that Corona 19 is the most dangerous now than in March than in August.
We can avoid a bigger crisis by taking a little more inconvenience.