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| A medical worker takes a nasal sample from a man during a COVID-19 testing at a makeshift testing site at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 15. AP-Yonhap |
South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell slightly to the 1,500s on Friday, but new infections are highly likely to increase as summer vacation season nears amid a pileup of cases in the greater Seoul area and other regions.
The country added 1,536 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,476 local infections, raising the total caseload to 175,046, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
On Thursday, the country reported 1,600 cases, which was just below the daily record of 1,615 cases tallied Wednesday. Daily cases stayed above the 1,000 mark for the 10th consecutive day.
The country added one more COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,051.
The greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's 51.3 million population, has been under the highest level of social distancing measures since Monday, while most other regions have toughened restrictions from Thursday.
The wider Seoul area has been the hotbed for the recent resurgence in new outbreaks, but the non-capital area has seen upticks in the daily caseload over the past week. The proportion of newly confirmed cases outside the Seoul area surged to 29.4 percent Thursday from 22.1 percent a week ago.
Under the toughest virus curbs, gatherings of more than two people are banned after 6 p.m., and entertainment establishments, including nightclubs and bars, are ordered to shut down, while restaurants are allowed to have dine-in customers until 10 p.m.
The country decided to apply Level 2 for most regions outside the capital, in which gatherings of more than eight people are banned.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, however, urged regional governments to adopt further toughened restrictions with the cap at just four amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread of the virus.
Kim said the country may consider banning gatherings of more than two people in areas outside Seoul after 6 p.m. as well if the curve of daily virus cases does not flatten soon.
The remark came as some citizens traveled from the capital region to surrounding areas at late hours to avoid the semi-curfew.
Authorities expect daily cases to peak in the 2,000s by mid-August before falling to the 600s on the back of the tightened distancing rules coupled with the inoculation program.
A total of 15.9 million people, or 31.1 percent of the country's population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines as of Friday.
The KDCA added 6.32 million people have been fully vaccinated, accounting for 12.3 percent of the population.
Of the newly confirmed domestic cases, 564 were from Seoul, 448 from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 95 from the western port city of Incheon.
Imported cases, which also include South Koran nationals from overseas, came to 60.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries was 157,113, up 604 from a day earlier.
The number of patients in critical condition came to 171, up four from the previous day. (Yonhap)
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