<Anchor> The number of
new corona19 confirmed patients has risen to 300.
It has been 81 days since the end of August, and concerns are growing that the third pandemic has come to life.
This is reporter Kim Hyung-rae.
<Reporter>
Yesterday (17th), out of 313 new confirmed cases a day, 245 were domestically and 68 were inflows from overseas.
By region, 181 people were confirmed in the metropolitan area, including 91 in Seoul, 81 in Gyeonggi, and 9 in Incheon.
In the non-metropolitan area, 64 people came out, including 15 from Jeonnam, 12 from Gyeongbuk, and 9 from Gwangju and Gyeongnam.
In a swimming pool in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 11 additional members were confirmed until today after one member was first confirmed on the 12th.
At a nursing home in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 10 people were confirmed, including 4 employees and 5 users.
The number of critically ill patients is rapidly increasing, but the quarantine authorities have said that 119 critically ill beds remain nationwide.
However, there are many areas where hospital beds are scarce, such as two in Gangwon and one in Jeonnam.
There were even concerns that the third pandemic had begun, but the government said it should watch more.
[Dao-Tae Kang/Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare: It is a serious time for the increase in the number of confirmed patients, and I see it like this.
(But) Isn't there a part that needs to be watched more yet to call this the third pandemic?
]
From tomorrow, Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gwangju, which will be upgraded to 1.5 steps of distance, started to check the quarantine situation in advance.
The two-week SAT exam special quarantine period will also begin tomorrow.
The Ministry of Education said that it has secured a test space that can handle 120 confirmed students and 3,800 self-isolation students before the SAT.
Also, starting on the 26th, high school will be switched to remote classes, and it will be recommended to discontinue face-to-face classes at academies.