November 17 According to Korean media reports, South Korea’s Central Anti-pandemic Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 17th that as of 0:00 local time, 230 new cases of Coronavirus pandemic have been confirmed, and the total number of confirmed cases has reached 28,998.
South Korea has had more than 200 new cases in a single day for 4 consecutive days. The South Korean authorities announced on the same day that the pandemic prevention response level in the metropolitan area will be upgraded to 1.5.
The pandemic in South Korea continues to spread. It has spread from daily infections in cafes, companies, family and acquaintance gatherings, and recently it has spread to schools, clubs, department stores, and restaurants, where new confirmed cases have emerged one after another.
Among the new cases notified on the 17th, 202 were community-infected cases, of which 137 were in the metropolitan area; there were 28 imported cases overseas.
Currently, the pandemic situation in the capital area is relatively serious. South Korean Prime Minister Ding Shikyun announced at a meeting of the Central Security Measures Headquarters on the 17th that he decided to raise the level of social distancing restrictions in the metropolitan area to level 1.5 from 0:00 local time on the 19th.
He said that although upgrading the anti-pandemic level will bring inconvenience to the daily life of the people and increase the economic burden of small businesses, it is necessary to make decisive decisions at present, otherwise it will face a greater crisis.
The South Korean government originally planned to simultaneously raise the level of pandemic prevention response in the metropolitan area and Gangwon Province, but this time it decided to only raise the level of the metropolitan area.
Ding Shijun emphasized that in spite of this, non-capital regions must not relax their vigilance. Only by strictly abiding by the pandemic prevention rules can the current crisis be overcome.
