COVID-19 CASES IN SEOUL REMAINS ABOVE 100

[Anchor Lead]

It's been a week since Level 2 social distancing measures were enforced in Seoul, where infections continue to surge, but the daily number of cases in he city remains above 100 for days now. The number of passengers on public transportation has declined, apparently because of the stringent social distancing measure.

[Pkg]

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Seoul remains high. The capital has recorded triple-digit increase almost every day since the surge began ten days ago. Fewer people are using public transportation as a result of enhanced Level 2 social distancing measures. In the first week of March, the median weekly number of subway passengers recorded some 4.4 million, that's 57.3 percent of the level recorded a year ago. Back then, the public was exercising extra caution due to the massive outbreak in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. The number of subway passengers increased continuously later, recovering to an 82-percent level during the late July-early August period. However, it fell again to 61.8 percent after Level 2 social distancing measures were enforced due to a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases in the Seoul metropolitan area. The number of people using buses also declined by more than 40 percent last weekend.

[Soundbite] KIM WOO-JOO(PROF., KOREA UNIVERSITY GURO HOSPITAL) : "People try to avoid public transportation due to the pandemic. But the problem is, they let their guard down as time goes by."

Seoul has seen 134 more new cases -- 19 at a kindergarten in Gangdong-gu District and 15 at a church in Dongdaemun-gu District. One person tested positive at SBS in Yangcheon-gu District, prompting authorities to restrict access to the building and disinfect it. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is urging everyone who attended recent rallies to receive testing. This applies to participants of all other such gatherings, not just the mass demonstration in Gwanghwamun on August 15.

[Soundbite] KWAK JONG-BIN(SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT) : "We will conduct on-site inspections of 774 people we've been unable to reach. We will visit them this week along with police."

Hospital bed occupancy in the Seoul metropolitan area currently stands at 66 percent after a quarantine center with some 179 beds opened at Eunpyeong Fire Academy.