New cases above 1,600 amid stepped-up fight against 4th wave of pandemic

Daily new COVID-18 cases remained above 1,600 for Friday, as the authorities struggled to stem the fourth wave of the coronavirus with the extension of the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 1,629 COVID-19 infections, including 1,573 local ones, raising the total caseload to 187,362.

The latest number was down from Thursday's 1,630 total and a record high of 1,842 for Wednesday, when 270 infected members of the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit, who were on an anti-piracy mission off Africa, were counted.

The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 since July 7 due to a resurgence in the greater Seoul area and the spread of the virus in other regions attributable to increased activities during the summer vacation season and the highly transmissible Delta variant.

The KDCA reported two more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 2,068.

South Korea has been scrambling to curb rising infections particularly among those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, as transmission routes involving these age groups are unknown in many cases with the vaccination campaign focusing largely on the elderly population and medical and social services workers.

On Friday, the government extended the highest level of the four-tier distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two weeks beginning Monday until Aug. 8. It also plans to discuss strengthening virus curbs in the non-Seoul metropolitan regions, Sunday.

The highest-level distancing measures ban gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and place a 10 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes, and a ban on nightclubs and other entertainment venues.

A total of 16.8 million people, or 32.8 percent of the country's population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and more than 6.8 million people have been fully vaccinated, the KDCA said.

Of the newly confirmed domestic cases, 462 were in Seoul, 448 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 114 in the southeastern port city of Busan. There were 56 imported cases.

The total number of people released from quarantine after making a recovery was 165,246, up 1,040 from a day earlier; while patients in critical condition numbered 254, up 27. (Yonhap)