Health Authorities Call For Action Before Nationwide College Exams As New Virus Cases Near 400

South Korea has added 382 more COVID-19 cases today, November 25. This is the largest daily increase for the country since August 27. 

As of today, the country has recorded a total of 31, 735 positive coronavirus cases, 513 deaths, and 26, 825 recoveries.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), among the 382 new cases, 363 were locally transmitted while 19 are from overseas.

The daily new cases for South Korea have stayed in the triple digits since November 8 while the daily average is 316.3 in the past week.

Last week, the government has imposed tightened social distancing as well as fines for not wearing masks amidst the rising coronavirus cases.

In today's briefing, Sohn Young-rae from the Health and Welfare Ministry said they will "assess the effectiveness of tightened social distancing rules before looking into nationwide measures."

He also stressed that the positive impact of the strict social distancing and mask-wearing to the covid cases in the country's capital region will begin to appear the following week.

Meanwhile, health authorities are crying for a tougher course of action in controlling the spread of the virus as the nationwide college exam is fast approaching and is scheduled for December 3.

According to health authorities, the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is underway after the leniency and the rapid increase of new infections from private group gatherings, church activities, public facilities, hospitals, and even the military.

If the trend stays the same and the local infections exceed 300 per day for a week, health authorities are reviewing the option of enforcing Level 2 social distancing rules in the country.

The Level 2 alert suspends the operation of high-risk entertainment facilities such as nightclubs. It also limits cafes to offer only takeout and delivery services. Meanwhile, under this alert level, restaurants are banned from serving food on their premises after 9 PM.

Private gatherings such as funerals and weddings are also limited to a maximum of 100 pax.