"사랑제일교회 관련 총 676명 확진…광화문집회, 전국 확산 기폭제 판단"

As Covid-19 infections from the Sarang Jeil church cluster reaches 6-hundred-76 and spreading quickly... the city of Seoul is tightened anti-virus measures.
It's banning rallies of more than 10 people until August 30th effective midnight tonight.
Kim Dami has the details.
A total of 676 cases of COVID-19 have come from the Sarang Jaeil Church as of Thursday afternoon.
The church outbreak has now spread to over 10 locations.
"67 people have been confirmed to have the virus through second-hand infections. The health authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations on 150 places where confirmed patients lived or worked."
The church-related infections are mainly occurring in the Seoul metropolitan area, but they have also stretched out to other cities including Daegu and Busan.
On top of that, demonstrations in central Seoul over the Liberation Day weekend are triggering more clusters of infections across the country.
"People from all corners of the country came to Seoul by bus and the number of infections can skyrocket from those rallies. We are doing our utmost to stop the additional COVID-19 spread."
So far, 53 people who attended the demonstrations have tested positive for the virus.
33 of them are from the Sarang Jaeil Church.
Health authorities have pledged to track down all participants so they can be tested.
More than 76-hundred police officers who were on duty at the rallies are taking COVID-19 tests, and three police officers have been confirmed to have the virus.
To prevent further cluster infections, starting Friday, Seoul city will ban all rallies or demonstrations of 10 or more people until the end of the month.
This is part of the level-three social distancing scheme, a tightened measure from the previous ban on rallies or outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people.
Those who violate the latest regulation can be fined more than 25-hundred U.S. dollars.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.