New virus cases in S. Korea remain in 300s for 2nd day

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 323 new COVID-19 cases, including 308 local infections, over the past 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 19,400. Five more patients died, raising the death toll to 321.

Saturday's daily tally marks a drop from the previous day when the country's new virus cases came to 371 and a sharp drop from 441 on Thursday. Still, the number of daily virus cases has stayed in the triple digits for more than two weeks.

Since Aug. 14, a combined 4,630 cases have been reported in South Korea, mostly tied to a conservative church in northern Seoul and the Aug. 15 Liberation Day rally in central Seoul.

Of the 308 locally transmitted cases, 244 were identified in the capital area, home to half of the country's 51 million population. Seoul added 124 more cases, while the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and western port city of Incheon reported 100 and 20 cases, respectively, it said.

Other major cities reported additional infections, with the southwestern city of Gwangju adding 14 cases and the southeastern port city of Busan confirming five more cases, the KCDC said.

As of Friday, Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul -- a hotbed of the recent spike in new infections -- reported 978 COVID-19 cases. The church-linked cases also led to infections in at least 25 locations, with 66 cases reported in nine different provinces and municipalities outside the greater Seoul area.

At least 294 patients have been reported from the Aug. 15 demonstration in central Seoul, with 116 cases identified in 10 different provinces and municipalities outside the greater Seoul area, as of Friday.

The number of cases traced to a door-to-door business establishment in Seoul jumped to 66, with 49 of them detected in South Jeolla Province as of Friday. In the southeastern city of Gwangju, a table tennis club reported 14 COVID-19 cases.

To stem the virus spread, health authorities first applied the second highest out of a three-tier social distancing system in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province for two weeks starting Aug. 16. The western port city of Incheon was put under the measures three days later before the government expanded the scheme nationwide last Sunday.

However, since the country's virus situation showed no signs of letting up, the government decided Friday to extend the Level 2 distancing for one more week, with tighter antivirus measures to take place from Sunday to Sept. 6 in the greater Seoul area.

The 2.5 Level, set to take effect Sunday, is the last chance to stop a nationwide massive outbreak, the government said. Health experts said the tighter antivirus measures are quasi-Level Three.

«The current situation in the greater Seoul area is very serious, and requires concentrated and powerful social distancing,» said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health official, at the press briefing.

Yoon further said there will be no other choice but to raise the social distancing to the highest level if the current situation does not improve over the next eight days.

If the current restrictions are elevated to the highest level, gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned. Not only high-risk facilities, such as clubs, but also mid-risk facilities, including movie theaters, wedding halls and cafes, would be advised to suspend their operations.

Also the government said Friday that it will begin to restrict operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the greater Seoul area.

Under the plan set to take effect Sunday, restaurants and bakeries can operate until 9 p.m., and only takeaway and delivery will be permitted from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The move is set to last until Sept. 6.

In the case of franchise coffee chains, only takeout or delivery will be permitted regardless of operating hours, a measure apparently taking into account reported cluster infections tied to coffee shops.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said extending the social distancing campaign in the wider Seoul area is an inevitable choice to lessen possibly bigger socioeconomic losses.

He further asked owners of coffee chains, restaurants and other businesses to actively cooperate with the order despite frustration.

Police, meanwhile, said they will take stern actions against those assaulting people demanding face mask use on public transportation.

The move comes after a series of cases occurred, involving people physically attacking others who had demanded they wear a face mask to ride the bus or subway.

The number of newly identified imported cases stood at 15, with five of them detected at quarantine checkpoints at airports and harbors. The country's total number of imported cases is now at 2,797.

South Korea reported five more deaths from the coronavirus, raising the death toll to 321.

The country's virus fatality rate currently stands at 1.65 percent, the KCDC said.

Health authorities said the number of daily deaths has spiked from an average of between none and two, mainly because of an increase of elderly COVID-19 patients in critical condition.

They further said the country could possibly see more deaths from the virus as the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients reached 64, up six from a day earlier.

The number is sharply up from 10 recorded on Aug. 19, according to the KCDC.

The total number of people released from isolation after making full recoveries stood at 14,765, up 214 from the previous day.