Korea's daily Covid-19 tally hit a new high on Wednesday, forcing the government to consider implementing stronger quarantine measures next week if the current distancing scheme fails to curb the virus spread.

The country added 1,896 Covid-19 cases, including 1,823 local infections, raising the total caseload to 193,427, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was up from 531 on Thursday to hit the all-time high.

The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 for 22 days since July 7 due to the resurgence in the greater Seoul area. The coronavirus is now spreading across the nation with increased activities in the summer season and the fast rise of the highly contagious Delta variant. Four more people died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,083, with a fatality rate of 1.08 percent.

"Now that two weeks have passed since implementing the Level 4 distancing scheme in the Seoul metro region, it is necessary to review whether stronger quarantine measures are necessary while closely observing the situation," Ministry of Health and Welfare Spokesperson Son Young-rae said during a daily task force meeting. "If we do not see a decline in virus cases this and next week, we need to analyze the characteristics."

If group infections spread due to weakened control over private gatherings or multipurpose facilities, the government will review measures to address such shortcomings, he added.

Son's remarks come after the nation has failed to curb the spread of the fourth viral wave, despite extending the Level 4 distancing rules in the capital city and its surrounding areas for two weeks until Aug. 8.

The toughest distancing restrictions ban the gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and place a 10 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes and a ban on nightclubs and other entertainment venues. The country also began enforcing Level 3 distancing restrictions in the rest of the country on Tuesday to contain the virus during the summer holiday season.

However, the government believes it has somewhat blocked the steep increase of infections in the greater Seoul area, as shown by the trend line of new confirmed cases.

"We have reached the point of blocking the trend of increasing prevalence in the capital area, which had shifted from steep surge to relative stability," Son said. "Whether this stable pattern turns into a downward trend is the most important point for the next two weeks."

Son reiterated the government’s position that it is impossible to completely reorganize the quarantine system in ways to “coexist with Covid-19,” given the unrelenting pace of new virus cases.

"The government believes that it should maintain the current policy of continuously suppressing the number of confirmed cases below a certain level until we hit the vaccination target," Son said.

Meanwhile, Moderna reportedly said it would resume the supply of its Covid-19 vaccine to Korea next week.

The company had initially notified the Korean government that it would adjust the supply schedule due to production disruption at one of its contract manufacturing organization (CMO) partner's plants in Switzerland.

"Modena has decided to resume the vaccine supply from next week," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said. "The resumption results from a high-level video conference between the government and Moderna to discuss the supply disruption."

The government will finalize the August vaccination plan and announce it this Friday so that the public can participate in vaccination with confidence, he added.

Health officials plan to carry out vaccinations for those in their 50s as scheduled and vaccinations for those aged 18 to 49 from the end of August to September as originally planned.

"To achieve the goal of forming herd immunity in November, the government will continue to promote vaccination without wavering," Kim said.

The government has vaccinated 17,902,938 people – 10,406,756 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 5,885,546 with Pfizer's vaccine, 1,129,766 with Janssen's vaccine 480,870 with Moderna's vaccine – with the first shot of the vaccine up 380,756 from the previous day.

The figure accounts for 34.9 percent of the nation's population.