<Anchor> The number of



new COVID-19 cases was below 1,500 for two days in a row. However, as of 6 pm today (14th), the number of confirmed people has already exceeded 1,500. As the spread of the metropolitan area continues and the traffic volume during the Chuseok holiday is expected to increase from last year, the holiday traffic measures are also focusing on quarantine management.



Reporter Kim Yong-tae reports.



<Reporter>



Travel volume for Chuseok this year is expected to decrease by 16% compared to the previous year, but to increase by 3.5% compared to last year.



[Lee Chung-mi / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: I haven't been to my grandmother's for over two years, so I've been vaccinated this time, so I'm just going to go this time.] In



particular, road quarantine has become important as the use of private cars reached 94%.



The government will operate temporary screening tests at nine highway rest areas by the end of this month and prohibit eating and drinking indoors at rest stops from the 17th to the 22nd.



Expressway tolls will be charged normally during Chuseok holidays to encourage people to refrain from moving.



It was recommended that railroads only sell window seats, buses make reservations for window seats, and passenger ships should board 50% of the capacity.



The purpose is to hold only small gatherings centered on those who have completed the vaccination.



[Park Hyang / Head of the Central Accident Control Headquarters Prevention Division: As the number of contacts increases, the concern about the spread of infection increases at the same rate. (When gathering) There is a time difference between the brothers... .]



This is because the spread of the metropolitan area is that serious.



Last week, the number of patients in the metropolitan area averaged 1,234 per day, an increase of 78 or 6.7% compared to a week ago.



The infection reproduction index, which indicates how many people a patient infects, has also risen to 1.01, and the amount of movement is also increasing.



The government is emphasizing 'vaccination before departure and diagnostic testing after returning' to prevent the spread of the virus nationwide from the beginning of Chuseok.



However, it was decided not to force vaccination for the 12-17 year olds scheduled for the fourth quarter, saying that the benefit of vaccination is not significantly greater than the risk of infection if not vaccinated.



(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, Video editing: Kim Jun-hee, CG: Kang Yu-ra, VJ: Shin So-young)