New cases in 1,800s for second day amid spread in capital area
A woman gets tested for COVID-19 at a temporary center in Seoul Station, Sept. 10. Yonhap
Daily new COVID-19 cases stayed in the 1,800s here for the second straight day Friday despite infections continuing to spread in the greater Seoul area.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 1,865 more coronavirus cases, including 1,816 local ones, raising the total caseload to 271,227.
The number was down 27 from Thursday but still 62 more than Friday last week. In the past week, the number of new infections has ranged from 1,375 to 2,049, for an average of 1,759 a day.
The daily caseload has stayed in the four-digits since July 7 amid the fast spread of the more transmissible Delta variant nationwide.
The country added 10 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the toll to 2,358.
The capital area has seen a resurgence in infections, with 74.2 percent of the new cases being counted in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
The KDCA has expressed particular concern about the potential spread of the virus during the Sept. 20 to 22 Chuseok fall harvest holiday, when millions of South Koreans typically travel nationwide for family gatherings.
Social distancing measures have been extended for another four weeks through Oct. 3, with the greater Seoul area under Level 4, the highest in the four-tier system, and other regions under Level 3.
More than 32.8 million people, or 63.9 percent of the country's population of 51.3 million, have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, the health authorities said, with the number of fully vaccinated people rising to over 19.8 million, or 38.6 percent.
The government has said its aim is to give at least one shot to 70 percent of the population before the Chuseok holiday and reach herd immunity by October.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making a recovery was 242,960, up 2,227 from the previous day. (Yonhap)