New infections in 400s for 3rd day, virus curbs eased for vaccinated people

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 400s for the third consecutive day Tuesday, while health authorities are easing distancing rules for vaccinated people to speed up the inoculation drive.

The country reported 459 more COVID-19 cases, including 449 local infections, raising the total caseload to 140,799, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

It is the first time that the daily caseload has stayed around 400 for three days in a row since late March, just before the fourth wave of the pandemic hit the nation.

There were four additional deaths, raising the total to 1,963.

New cases popped up in various settings, including care facilities, workplaces, churches and bars, and the number of untraceable cases remained high, posing challenges to the country's virus fight.

The average daily number of new cases stood at 554 over the past week, still above the standard for the Level 2.5 distancing, the fourth-highest in the five-tier scheme,

Health authorities said they are closely monitoring the recent drop in new cases to see whether it was attributable to fewer tests over the weekend or early signs of letup in virus transmissions.

As the vaccine rollout among the elderly population gains pace, the government on Tuesday eased social distancing guidelines for vaccinated people.

While up to eight immediate family members are currently allowed to gather, those who have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccines are partly exempt from the social distancing rule.

As the U.S. government's supply of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine for 1 million people is set to arrive here this week following Washington's pledge to donate vaccines for Korean troops, health authorities began accepting reservations via an online system earlier in the day.

The Janssen vaccines will be administered to reservists, members of civil defense and those related to the country's defense and foreign affairs, and those aged under 30 will be excluded amid concerns over blood clots, the KDCA said.

A total of 5.79 million people, including 385,535 the previous day, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, taking up 11.3 percent of the total population, since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26.

AstraZeneca's vaccine has been given to 3.5 million people, while 2.2 million have received that of Pfizer.

The KDCA said 2.1 million people have been fully vaccinated, with an additional 27,064 receiving their second jabs the previous day, accounting for 4.2 percent of the total population.

Of the locally transmitted cases, 146 came from Seoul and 116 from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province.

The southeastern city of Daegu added 39 new patients, and the southeastern port city of Busan had 28 more cases.

There were 10 additional imported cases, down nine from a day earlier.

The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients came to 158, up nine from the previous day. (Yonhap)