S. KOREA REPORTS 1,219 NEW CASES

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported 1,219 coronavirus cases on Monday, remaining above the 1,000 mark despite fewer tests conducted over the weekend. The trend has continued since July 7. The number of seriously ill patients is also rising. The government is considering imposing stronger restrictions if the outbreak is not contained soon.

[Pkg]

Monday's caseload stood at 1,219. That's another four-digit caseload despite fewer tests conducted on Sunday. The virus reproduction rate is currently 1.04. The rate is under 1 in the greater Seoul area, where new cases has plateaued, but in non-capital regions it has surpassed 1. The seven-day average of local COVID-19 daily cases is 1,506, 41 more than the week before.

[Soundbite] Sohn Young-rae(Central Disaster Management HQs) : "The scale of the outbreak is still large and the number of cases is not decreasing. The risk of a new spread remains."

The number of seriously ill patients is also rising. 324 seriously ill patients were reported on Sunday. That's seven more than the day before, when it surpassed 300 for the first time since January 21st.

[Soundbite] Jung Jae-hun(Prof., Gachon University) : "If the spread among people in their 40s and 50s continues, the number of seriously ill patients could surge."

Currently there are 360 beds nationwide for seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Health authorities plan to step up monitoring so that patients who can be treated at quarantine centers are not allocated to infectious disease hospitals. If the trend continues, additional measures will be considered to secure more beds.

[Soundbite] Kim Boo-kyum(Prime Minister) : "If the spread continues, the government will have no choice but to consider imposing stronger restrictions. If we don’t stop the spread now, we could face a more serious crisis during the upcoming Liberation Day holiday period."

Some local governments that ease coronavirus restrictions without discussing the matter with municipal and provincial governments will no longer be eligible for compensation for business losses caused by the pandemic.