3차 대유행 본격화…600명 육박하며 1차 대유행 수준으로 근접

Our starting point tonight: For the first time in eight months, South Korea recorded close to 600 daily new cases of the coronavirus... as health authorities struggle to contain a third surge of infections.
The KDCA predicts South Korea will continue to see four to six hundred cases per day until early next month yet it is too early to discuss further tightening the distancing rules.
Bae Eun-ji leads our coverage tonight.
South Korea saw 583 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday,... of them, 533 were locally transmitted.
This is the first time the country has reported over 500 cases since the first wave in early March.
"We expect a similar number of infections throughout this week... probably about 4-hundred to 6-hundred cases per day until early December. But with social distancing, we believe it may slow down by next week."
Among the domestic cases, more than 400 came from Seoul and its surrounding areas.
The capital city itself reported 213 new cases... surpassing the 200-mark for the first time.
This is largely due to cluster infections, including 52 people testing positive at an aerobics center in the Gangseo-gu District of western Seoul.
Level Two social distancing measures have been in place in the greater Seoul area since Tuesday and will last for two weeks.
But even after the daily caseload hiked to over 500, the government says that it is too early to raise social distancing measures to level 2-point-5.
Something which experts say is down to how the public responds to the pandemic.
"The difference between now and last May or August, is that we, as a society, grew more mature and agile. As such, we became more skillful in dealing with what's coming. We now have learned what kind of negative impact we would have to face every time we apply strict measures of social distancing."
Due to a mass infection that was reported on Wednesday at a military unit in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi-do Province...level 2-point-5 social distancing measure have been placed on all military bases across the country until December 7th.
During this period, military personnel cannot go on leave, and all personal and religious gatherings are prohibited.
At least 70 soldiers have tested positive,... and with around 860 military personnel undergoing testing, more cases are expected.
The defense minister reported a total of 342 cases have been confirmed in the military...since the COVID-19 outbreak first began in the country.
Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.