<Anchor> Because of the



corona and the cold, there must have been many people who spent today (10th) still at home.

Still, the number of new corona19 confirmed patients remained in 600 units for the third day.

Although not a small number, the peak of the third epidemic has passed.

Whether or not to take the distance step down was decided based on the situation this week.



The first news, reporter Kim Hyung-rae reports.



<Reporter>



Over the past week, the average number of confirmed cases in Korea per day decreased by more than 20% from the previous week to 738.



In addition, the infection reproductive index, which indicates how many people each confirmed person infects, has also dropped below 1 for the first time in three months since October last year.



The quarantine authorities said that although the third epidemic of Corona 19 has passed its peak and is showing a decreasing trend, it is not yet a situation to be relieved.



[Son Young-rae / Head of Social Strategic Division, Central Accident Control Headquarters: There are still a couple more months left in the winter when the virus is active, and the outbreak of mutant viruses in foreign countries is not unusual.] In



particular, the proportion of group infections in multi-use facilities among infection routes was last November. Although it fell to half compared to mid-year, it expressed concern that cases of infection through individual contact with confirmed patients doubled.



This means that recent infection patterns are mainly occurring through individual contacts, such as private appointments or meetings.



Although the number of severely ill patients has decreased slightly, it is still over 400, and the death toll has seldom decreased.



The quarantine authorities plan to strengthen the management of facilities for the disabled, which are vulnerable to infection, by designating a dedicated hospital as well as nursing hospitals.



Regarding the special quarantine measures that have been extended to the 17th, it has said that it is possible to ease distancing, including lifting the group ban, by reducing the size of the outbreak as much as possible during this week.



(Video editing: Park player)