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Our starting point tonight: South Korea will limit private social gatherings to fewer than five people and shut down ski resorts and major tourist spots nationwide starting on Christmas Eve as it contends with a surge in coronavirus infections.
Bae Eun-ji leads our coverage tonight.
South Korea reported 869 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday,... of them 824 were locally transmitted.
Health authorities are concerned that the upcoming Christmas holiday season could worsen the country's COVID-19 situation.
To prevent another explosive surge in infections, the government has announced a new set of special prevention measures that will be in effect from December 24th to January 3rd.
During this period, winter sports facilities, ski resorts and popular year-end tourist spots will be closed.
Hotels and guesthouses will only be allowed to have half their rooms available to encourage customers to cancel travel plans.
Department stores and large supermarkets will be required to carry out temperature checks on all shoppers... and will not be able to offer food or drink samples.
Nursing homes and mental care hospitals will have to restrict visitors... and workers in these facilities are banned from attending private gatherings.
Movie theaters are required to seat customers one seat apart from one another, and will be closed from 9PM.
As for concert halls, audiences will have to be seated two seats apart from one another.
Also, all religious services nationwide will have to be done online, and up to 20 people only can participate in making them.
"The purpose of these special prevention measures is pretty clear. We ask everyone to cancel all holiday travel plans and personal gatherings... and stay home."
Some officials are likening these measures to using tweezers to precisely target places that could become virus hotbeds... and hoping they will help contain the spread of the virus.
Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.