Anchor: As the capital region emerges as a bloating hot spot for new coronavirus cases, the government is preparing plans for asymptomatic people to get tested for free. 
Meanwhile, the nationwide daily tally of new infections stayed close to 700 for a second day, pushing the total number of detected cases to the other side of 40 thousand.
Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said - as of 12:00 a.m. Thursday - 682 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past day, raising the country's cumulative total to 40-thousand-98.

The figure surpasses the 40-thousand-mark nearly eleven months after the country's first case was reported on January 20, and just 19 days after entering the 30-thousands.

The daily increase, which had remained at around 100 up until early November, spiked rapidly over the past month to peak in the higher 600s in what authorities are calling the country's third wave of infections.

In a government meeting on Thursday, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo characterized the situation as "precarious," testing Korea's medical system and quarantine capabilities. 

The government is setting up container hospital beds in line with a pledge to have enough on hand to serve not only critical patients but those with mild symptoms as well. 

Authorities are also preparing 150 sites across the greater Seoul area to receive asymptomatic people who want to be tested for the coronavirus free of cost, starting Monday. 

More than two-thirds of the country's latest new coronavirus cases came from the Seoul metropolitan region, which includes Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.

Health authorities say there is already a wait for a hospital bed for more than 500 COVID-19 patients, mostly from the Gyeonggi region.

The health minister again called on the public to thoroughly follow anti-virus measures such as wearing masks and social distancing, saying that they are the "best vaccines" until the actual COVID-19 shots are tested and ready. 
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.