New virus cases above 60 for 2nd day as infections outside capital show no signs of slowdown

A popular night-out area in the Seo District of Gwangju is nearly free of visitors July 3. Having seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections since June 27, the city has raised its social distancing level. Yonhap

The Korea Center for Disease Control and prevention (KCDC) reported over 60 new COVID-19 cases for the second straight day Friday as those outside the Seoul metropolitan area showed no signs of slowing, raising concerns the country may be returning to an upward infection trajectory.

The country added 63 cases ― 36 local infections and 27 from overseas ― bringing the total caseload to 13,030, according to the KCDC

Of the local transmissions, the number in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, fell to eight after it reported double-digit numbers Thursday and Friday, the KCDC said in a statement.

The greater Seoul area reported 28 new infections, with the surrounding Gyeonggi Province adding 19; while Daegu, once the hotbed of the country's virus outbreak, added one. The city accounted for more than half of the country's COVID-19 cases here, due to thousands of infections traced back to a religious sect based there.

Over the past two months, the densely populated Seoul and the surrounding area, which house around half of the country's 51-million population, made up most of the country's newly added cases.

The trend has prodded health authorities to focus on curbing the spread of the virus in the capital area. Last month, they decided to indefinitely apply toughened infection preventive measures amid the growing number of people infected at nightclubs and door-to-door businesses.

With other major cities reporting new infection clusters, the health authorities, however, have been under pressure to consider readopting these elsewhere.

The KCDC said Sunday the government will adopt three levels of social distancing and countermeasures, depending on the severity of COVID-19 outbreaks.

The country currently recommends Level 1 social distancing, which is implemented when the medical system can manage the number of the coronavirus cases. The government plans to apply Level 2 distancing measures if daily infections exceed 50 for 14 straight days, but remain below 100; and Level 3 measures if daily infections exceed 100, the KCDC said.

Under Level 2, all private and public indoor meetings of 50 or more and outdoor meetings of over 100 will be banned. Under Level 3, all meetings of 10 people or more will be banned, and all schools will again be closed.

The country reported one additional fatality for a death toll of 283.

The 27 new imported cases were the highest since June 23, marking a double-digit rise for the ninth consecutive day.

The total number of people released from quarantine after a full recovery stands at 11,811, up 52 from the previous day. This indicates that more than 90 percent of COVID-19 patients here have recovered.

The country has carried out 1,319,523 tests since Jan. 3. (Yonhap)