NEW COVID-19 CASES TOP 100,000

[Anchor Lead]

Korea's new COVID-19 cases surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in more than three months on Wednesday. The government has decided to support those who take time off work to take care of their families. It also urging the public to voluntarily adhere to social distancing and anti-virus rules.

[Pkg]

Korea reported 100,285 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. It's the highest daily tally since April 20th.

[Soundbite] Kim Sung-ho(Central Disaster & Safety Countermeasures HQs) : "The average number of cases increased 85% from the previous week. The percentages of omicron variant cases and reinfections are also increasing."

There were 532 imported cases, the highest since the pandemic started in the country. The number of critically ill patients came to 177, maintaining an upward climb in triple digits for a week. The government is urging the public to voluntarily stick to disease control measures. It also strongly recommended companies to give symptomatic workers time off. Also, a 50,000-won subsidy is being given daily to a worker using leave to care for covid-infected family members for up to ten days. The support is available to workers, regardless of the business size, who use unpaid leave to take care of infected family members. Workers can apply through the labor ministry's website. Public workers are strongly advised to work from home and must undergo preemptive rapid antigen tests when they return to work.

[Soundbite] Peck Kyong-ran(KDCA Director) : "People’s voluntary social distancing is not a regulation or a duty. It’s a means for people to make disease control measures a part of their daily lives by voluntarily observing regulations."

Health authorities also recommended crowded private academies to hold lessons remotely.