自11月放宽防疫措施以来，韩国新增新冠确诊病例数飙升，创下单日新增近8000例的纪录。韩国政府12月16日正式宣布再次收紧防疫政策，在全国范围内禁止5人及以上的私人社交聚会。此举意味着韩国政府在事实上叫停了实施了一个多月的“与新冠共存”防疫模式。

 

South Korea will prohibit private social gatherings¹ of five or more people nationwide and force restaurants to close at 9 pm, rolling out the country's toughest coronavirus restrictions².

韩国将实施该国迄今为止最严厉的新冠防疫措施，在全国范围内禁止5人及以上的私人社交聚会，并强制餐馆在晚上9点关门。

 

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday that the new measures will be enforced for at least 16 days after taking effect on Saturday.

韩国总理金富谦12月16日表示，新的措施将在18日生效，之后至少实施16天。

 

Schools in the densely³ populated capital Seoul and nearby metropolitan⁴ areas, where the virus has hit hardest, will also go back to remote learning after fully⁵ reopening in November.

人口密集的首都首尔和附近城区的学校在11月全面复课后，也将恢复远程教学。这些地区的疫情是最严重的。

 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 7,622 new cases on Thursday, close to the daily record of 7,850 set a day earlier. That brought the national caseload to 544,117, with nearly 97,000 added in December alone.

韩国疾病管理厅12月16日报告了7622例新增确诊病例，与前一天创下的纪录（单日新增7850例）几乎持平。这使得韩国新冠确诊病例达到544117例，仅12月就增加了近97000例。

 

Most of the transmissions were in the capital region, where officials say more than 86% of intensive care units designated for COVID-19 treatment are already occupied amid a spike⁶ in hospitalizations and deaths.

疫情主要集中在首尔地区。韩国政府官员表示，首尔地区住院和死亡的新冠患者激增，新冠专用重症监护病房的占用率已经超过86%。

 

More than 890 virus patients died this month, bringing the country's death toll⁷ to 4,518. As of Thursday morning, a record 989 patients were in serious or critical condition.

本月有超过890名新冠感染者死亡，该国新冠死亡人数达到4518人。截至16日上午，已有989名危重症患者，创下了新纪录。

 

"During this period of standstill, the government will reinforce the stability of our medical response capabilities," said Kim during a virus meeting. "We ask our people to respond to these efforts by actively⁸ getting vaccinated⁹."

金富谦在疫情发布会上表示：“在全国陷入停滞的时期，政府将提升医疗应对能力的稳定性。我们呼吁民众积极接种疫苗，响应政府的政策。”

 

After hesitating for weeks, officials moderately tightened¹⁰ social distancing rules last week, banning gatherings of seven or more people in the Seoul metropolitan area and requiring adults to verify their vaccination¹¹ status to use restaurants and other businesses, but such measures didn't meaningfully slow the virus' spread.

在犹豫了数周后，官员们上周适度收紧了社交防疫规定，禁止在首尔市区进行7人及以上的聚会，并要求成年人在进入餐馆和其他商户时出示疫苗接种证明，但这些措施并没有有效地减缓病毒的传播。

 

Jung Eun-kyeong said the country could see daily infections exceed 10,000 or 20,000 in the coming weeks if it fails to meaningfully slow transmissions now.

郑银敬表示，如果现在不能有效减缓病毒传播速度，韩国在未来几周内每天的感染人数可能会超过1万至2万人。

 

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said the four-person gatherings limit will only be applied¹² to fully vaccinated adults. Those who aren't fully vaccinated will be required to eat alone at restaurants, Kwon said. The rules won't be applied to children 18 years or younger. Restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and karaoke venues¹³ will be required to close at 9 pm, while movie theaters, concert halls and private cram¹⁴ schools will have to close at 10 pm.

韩国保健福祉部部长权德哲表示，4人聚会的人数上限只适用于已经完成疫苗接种的成年人。他说，那些没有完全接种疫苗的人将被要求单独在餐馆用餐。这些规则不适用于18岁及以下的未成年人。餐厅、咖啡馆、健身房和卡拉OK厅将于晚上9点关门，电影院、音乐厅和私立补习班将于晚上10点关门。

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