Anchor: The daily COVID-19 increase in South Korea fell slightly below 400 on Friday, but as big clusters linked to a church and a rally in Seoul further spread, the accumulated total in the capital area has surpassed that of the previous virus hotbed of Daegu. Considering the socioeconomic impact, the government, meanwhile, decided to keep Level Two distancing for another week.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters said as of 12:00 a.m. Friday, 371 more people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the country's accumulated total to 19-thousand-77.

The daily increase fell from 441 the previous day, which was the biggest since the first wave of the epidemic involving a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu in early March.

Out of 359 new local infections, 284, or 79 percent, were in the capital area. 

Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul's Seongbuk district, a hotbed of the recent spike in cases, reported 959 cases as of noon Thursday.

So far, a total of 273 people in 13 cities and provinces nationwide have contracted the virus in connection to an anti-government rally in Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square on August 15.

The latest increase raised the accumulated total in the Seoul metropolitan area to seven-thousand-200, the first time the capital region's total surpassed that of Daegu.

Elsewhere in the country, clusters are continuing to spread, including ones linked to a church and a table tennis club in the southwestern city of Gwangju and a sports facility in the eastern Gangwon provincial city of Wonju.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced that Level Two distancing in the capital region will be extended by another week past August 30, saying Level Three, considering its socioeconomic impact, should be left as the last resort.

Instead of elevating the level by another notch, which involves bans on gatherings of ten or more people and shutdowns of businesses, the government opted to tighten quarantine at locations frequented by many people while maintaining Level Two.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.