내일 수도권 2.5단계 연장여부 발표…당국 "느리지만 확산세 감소 유지"

South Korea continues a downward trend in new COVID-19 infections, but health officials are still on alert as the numbers may grow over the weekend.
Now, all eyes are on whether the nation will decide to extend the current stricter social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area.
Our Bae Eun-ji reports.
South Korea reported 136 new cases on Saturday, 40 cases less than the 176 reported the previous day.
The numbers did not go below 100, but remained under 200 for the tenth straight day.
Among them, 118 are local transmissions,... and 18 are imported cases.
The total number of confirmed cases in Korea now stands at 22-thousand-55.
This is a significant drop from late August, when the nation saw over four hundred daily new cases.
Although this means the country is slowly seeing a declining trend in infections, officials warned of complacency.
"We ask all citizens to comply with the level two-point-five social distancing guidelines over this weekend. We have to stop further deaths from COVID-19, and certainly must not let the outbreak last until the influenza season comes in winter."
The government will announce on Sunday whether to extend the level 2-point-5 social distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area,... which were already extended once to be in effect until this weekend.
The nation is also considering a new way of extending the same level of social distancing measures,... while easing restrictions on some facilities such as restaurants, coffee shops, and private educational institutes.
Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.