New infections above 1,000 for 6th day, cases start to rise in non-capital areas
People line up to get tested for COVID-19 at a testing center in Gangnam District, Seoul, July 12. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by more than 1,000 for the sixth consecutive day Monday despite fewer tests over the weekend, as the greater Seoul area, the hotbed for the recent spike in new infections, is placed under the toughest social distancing measures.The country added 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,063 local infections, raising the total caseload to 169,146, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally compares with 1,324 tallied the previous day.South Korea set a record high for daily cases Saturday with 1,378.The country added one more COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,044. The fatality rate came to 1.21 percent.Starting Monday, the highest level of social distancing is being put in place for Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, which will run for two weeks. For the past days, around 80 percent of the daily infections have been reported in the wider Seoul area, but non-Seoul areas, such as Busan,
Jul 12, 2021