New virus cases under 200 for 9th day, S. Korea undecided on easing virus measures

The country added 176 more COVID-19 cases, including 161 local infections, raising the total caseload to 21,919, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Yonhap reports.

Friday's tally marked a slight increase from the 156 and 155 cases reported on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

South Korea, which even posted fewer than 10 daily cases in late April after suffering a record high number of infections in late February at 909, had been keeping the new virus cases at around 50 with some ups and downs.

But on Aug. 14, the figure doubled from the previous day to reach a whopping 103. The recent spike was mainly attributable to cases tied to a conservative church in northern Seoul and an anti-government rally.

To curb the spread of the virus, South Korea adopted the Level 2 social distancing scheme for other parts of the country in mid-August, under which indoor meetings of more than 50 people and open-air gatherings of over 100 people are banned.

This will run through Sept. 20, though it could be extended. On the back of the efforts, the number of daily new cases has been gradually falling after hitting 441 additional cases on Aug. 27.

The country adopted an enhanced version of a social distancing scheme for the capital area in late August, which will run through Sunday unless South Korea decides to extend it again.

Under the updated measure, restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan area can operate normally from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. but then can only offer takeout after that time. Franchise coffee chains, bakeries and ice cream parlors can only offer takeaway around the clock.

Health authorities have said a daily increase of around 100 COVID-19 patients is considered a manageable level under the current medical capability.

But the prolonged social distancing scheme is heavily weighing down the livelihoods of private businesses.

South Korea believes that while the number of new cases is showing signs of a slowdown, the country also needs to take various factors into consideration, including the reproduction rate, as well as the growing number of patients in critical condition.

«The numbers are clearly slowing, but the figures will continue to go through ups and downs,» Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health official, said during a daily briefing. «Asymptomatic patients can also lead to group infections.»

«Health officials have discussed that the country should still take a wait-and-see approach in regards to the extension of the social distancing scheme,» Yoon added, hinting that «a third option» was also on the table, without providing more details. «We will deliver more details over the weekend.»

«The decision will be made by considering the problems we have encountered while rolling out the ongoing social distancing scheme, as well as current situations,» KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a separate briefing.

The number of patients in serious or critical condition came to 175, up six from the previous day. Health authorities are worried that the recent spike will lead to shortages in hospital beds, as well as more deaths, as most of them are seniors.

Around 87 percent of the patients in such condition were aged 60 and above.

Of the newly identified local infections, 61 cases were reported in Seoul and 47 from Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital.

Other municipalities reported new infections, with the central city of Daejeon adding 10 cases and Incheon, west of Seoul, reporting eight new cases. South Chungcheong Province added 14 new patients.

Cases traced to Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, a hotbed of the recent spike in new infections, stayed unchanged for a third day at 1,167.

Those tied to the anti-government rally in Seoul on Aug. 15 reached 564, up seven from the previous day.