New virus cases stay in 600s for 5th day as S. Korea readies for revamped distancing rules

South Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 600s for the fifth straight day Sunday as health authorities brace for revamped social distancing rules while pushing to accelerate vaccinations.

The country reported 614 more COVID-19 cases, including 570 local infections, raising the total caseload to 155,071, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The latest figure was down 54 from the previous day but still worrisome as daily virus cases on Sundays had been below 600 in June.

Daily caseloads here have been going through some ups and downs between the 300s and 700s in recent months with no significant signs of a letup due to sporadic cluster infections nationwide.

The country added one more death, raising the death toll to 2,013. The fatality rate was 1.3 percent.

South Korea will implement a new social distancing scheme Thursday, aimed at allowing businesses to extend operating hours and easing restrictions on social gatherings in accordance with the country's accelerating vaccination drive.

The greater Seoul area is now under Level 2 distancing, the third highest in the current five-level scheme, while the rest of the country is under Level 1.5. Private gatherings of five or more are banned nationwide.

Under the four-tier distancing system to be introduced next month, health authorities said the capital area will enforce Level 2 measures that permit restaurants and cafes to open till midnight, while allowing bars and other nightlife facilities to resume their operations.

Currently, restaurants and cafes are allowed to run till only 10 p.m., while the operations of bars and other nightlife establishments are suspended.

Under the new Level 2 distancing, the ban on gatherings of five or more people will be eased to six people until July 14 in the greater Seoul area before the ceiling goes up to eight.

In regions outside of the greater Seoul area, Level 1 will be applied in the new four-tier system, in which all restrictions on business operations and on the size of social gatherings will be abolished, though most provinces will have a two-week pilot run period.

The eased virus restrictions come as the country's inoculation drive is gaining traction.

A total of 15.29 million people have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, including 11,159 the previous day, accounting for 29.8 percent of the country's population, since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26.

The KDCA said 4.64 million people, or 9 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated.

South Korea is trying to inoculate 36 million people by September to achieve herd immunity in November, but it hopes it can reach the goal earlier than expected with the increased vaccine rollout.

The country currently uses vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen.

Of the newly confirmed domestic cases, the capital area accounted for 76.7 percent, with 242 from Seoul, 171 from Gyeonggi Province and 24 from Incheon, 40 kilometers west of the capital. The southeastern port city of Busan added 12 cases.

Among virus clusters, the number of cases linked to English cram schools in Seongnam, Bucheon, Goyang and Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province increased by 25 to 100.

A restaurant for foreign workers in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, reported two more cases, raising its total to 108. A church in Daejeon, 164 km south of Seoul, added one more case, increasing its total to 76.

There were 44 additional imported cases, down 13 from a day earlier, raising the total to 9,818.

Of the newly confirmed cases from overseas, 25 came from Indonesia, followed by Russia with seven and Uzbekistan with three.

Health authorities are especially focusing on the highly contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

The number of patients in serious or critical condition came to 147, down two from the previous day.

The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries was 146,340, up 351 from a day earlier, with 6,718 people being isolated for COVID-19 treatment, up 262 from a day ago. (Yonhap)