<Anchor> When the



vaccination started earlier this year, it seemed that the corona virus would end soon, but with the advent of Omicron, the global village was deprived of even time to enjoy the end of the year. From now on, let's take a look at the situation around the world, including us.



First, in Korea, 269 people were infected with the Omicron mutation, the highest number ever in one day. The quarantine authorities predicted that if Omicron spreads further, the number of confirmed cases per day could exceed 10,000 by the end of next month, even if the current distance is maintained.



Reporter Park Soo-jin.



<Reporter>



Omicron mutation was first confirmed in Korea on the 1st.



It started with a couple in their 40s who had visited Nigeria, and within a month, the number of Omicron confirmed cases increased to 894.



Of these, just over half of them were imported from overseas and local infections resulting from overseas inflows, that is, those whose routes were identified.



There are not many cases where the route of infection is unknown, so additional infections can occur anytime, anywhere.



In fact, those infected with Omicron, which were initially concentrated in Incheon, are being confirmed in 17 cities and provinces across the country.



Since yesterday (30th), a rapid PCR test that can determine whether an micron is present within 3 hours is introduced, and the scale of infection is expected to increase.



[Kwon Deok-cheol / Minister of Health and Welfare: (Omicron's) Considering the speed of propagation and foreign cases, it is difficult for us to avoid becoming a dominant species.

The lack of information that has been revealed so far makes it difficult to systematically analyze and respond.] The



Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), assuming that the transmission power of Omicron is 4 times that of Delta, even if the current distance is maintained, there will be 10,000 confirmed

cases

per day at the end of next month. It was predicted that there could be more than one person.



If the business hours are delayed by one hour from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the number can increase to 18,000.



Based on this, the quarantine authorities said, "We believe that restricting business hours is more effective than the number of gatherings in terms of distance."



(Video coverage: Jeong Seong-hwa, video editing: Won-yang, CG: Seo Hyun-joong, Kim Jeong-eun)



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