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On the first day of the new year, yesterday (the 1st), the number of new corona 19 confirmed cases fell to 824 in five days after the 28th of last month.

However, there is also an impact that the number of diagnostic tests of suspected patients has decreased by more than 20,000 on weekdays.

Five additional cases of mutant virus infection from the UK and South Africa have also been confirmed.



This is Park Chan-beom.



<Reporter> The



government put significance in the fact that the growth rate of patients in the metropolitan area has slowed somewhat.



The average number of confirmed cases per day in the metropolitan area for the last week was 652, a little less than 707 a week ago.



[Kwon Deok-cheol/Minister of Health and Welfare: The rate of patient growth is slowing, and the infectious reproductive index is approaching 1.] The



occurrence of confirmed cases is still concentrated in the metropolitan area.



At the Eastern Detention Center in Seoul, 13 additional prisoners were confirmed, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases increased to 958.



In addition, additional infections in vulnerable facilities such as nursing homes continued.



The number of confirmed cases infected with the corona mutant virus increased by five.



Three out of four additional confirmed UK mutant virus infections are the family of a man in his 80s who was diagnosed as'confirmed after death' on the 26th of last month.



One of them was confirmed to have visited a beauty salon and mart near their residence in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, after entering Korea before other family members in November of last year and before being confirmed.



The quarantine authorities said, however, that none of this person's contacts have been confirmed yet.



People who arrived from South Africa via the United Arab Emirates on the 26th of last month were also found to be infected with the South African mutant virus.



In order to prevent the spread of the foreign mutant virus to the local community, the government has made it mandatory for foreigners to submit a'voice confirmation'.



[Lim Sook-young/Central Defense Countermeasure Headquarters, General Manager of Situation: We plan to submit and make mandatory a PCR (gene amplification test) negative confirmation issued within 72 hours from the departure date.]



From the 8th to the airport and the 15th to the port.