<Anchor> With



400 new corona19 confirmed cases for the fourth day, the government has decided to extend the current distancing stage and ban on private gatherings with more than 5 people for another two weeks.

However, exceptions were allowed for up to 8 people for meetings and immediate family meetings.



This is reporter Kim Deok-hyun.



<Reporter>



Of the 488 new confirmed cases, 467 were domestic outbreaks, excluding 21 foreign patients.



By region, 324 people were confirmed in the metropolitan area, including 138 in Seoul and 157 in Gyeonggi, and 143 were confirmed in the non-metropolitan area.



The average number of confirmed cases in Korea per day for the last week is 418, which is still about 2.5 stages of distance.



As the spread did not subside, the quarantine authorities decided to extend the current distancing measure, which ends on Sunday, for another two weeks.



[Sae-Kyun Jeong/Prime Minister: We have not reached a certain level of stability, and there has been a congestion of 3~400 people for the last 8 weeks in a row.

We would like to extend the current distance step by two more weeks.]



Along with the measures in the 2nd phase of the metropolitan area and the 1.5th phase of the non-metropolitan area, the ban on meetings with more than 5 people will also be maintained.



However, in the case of meetings or direct family gatherings, we decided to apply an exception so that up to 8 people are possible.



For first-birthday specialty stores that were restricted in business, the same distance restrictions as wedding halls and funeral halls apply.



The business hours limit for restaurants and cafes in the metropolitan area, which is until 10:00 p.m., lasts for another two weeks, but the restrictions on business after 10:00 p.m. for entertainment facilities that have been applied nationally are lifted only in non-metropolitan areas.



Sauna and steam facilities in the metropolitan area, which were banned from operation, are reopened, but the operation of the bathhouse business, which has been contagious recently, will be restricted after 10pm.



The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday that 42,000 people received the Corona 19 vaccine a day, and the cumulative number of inoculations was 546,000.