nation’s health authorities are at the brink of quarantine as they struggle to contain the fourth wave, with their vaccination schedule delayed due to supply disruption at makers.

However, the government’s Covid-19 czar ensured Friday that there would be no serious vaccine supply problems.

"About 1.3 million doses of the Moderna's vaccine will arrive On Aug. 6 or 7," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a daily task force meeting. "The government has also separately had talks with Moderna to ensure the supply of 8.5 million more doses in August."

The prime minister pointed out that although some people have expressed concerns about the supply disruption of vaccines, there have been no cases of the government failing to supply promised vaccines on a quarterly basis. "The government once again emphasizes that there will be no disruption in the supply of the Moderna vaccine,” he said.

The reality is that there is a lot of uncertainty in the global vaccine supply-and-demand situation. However, the government will continue to do its best to bring in the contracted quantity as soon as possible while consulting with pharmaceutical companies from time to time, Kim added.

Kim reiterated that everything is going as planned.

"Vaccinations for those in their 50s, which started this Monday, are going without a hitch," he said. "In August, the government will carry out vaccination for all citizens under the age of 40 at a speedy pace."

If everyone actively participates in vaccination according to the schedule set by the government, it will be possible to achieve the nation's goal of inoculating 70 percent of its citizens with the first jab of the vaccine by the end of September, Kim added.

The government has vaccinated 18,729,701 people – 10,408,430 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 6,532,826 with Pfizer's vaccine, 1,129,763 with Janssen's vaccine 658,682 with Moderna's vaccine – with the first shot of the vaccine up 346,234 from the previous day.

The figure accounts for 36.5 percent of the nation's population.

Despite the nation resolving some of its vaccination supply shortage, its daily Covid-19 cases are not slowing down, however.

On Friday, the country added 1,710 Covid-19 cases, including 1,662 local infections, raising the total caseload to 196,806, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was up from 1,674 cases reported Thursday.

The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 for more than three weeks since July 7 due to the resurgence in the greater Seoul area. The coronavirus has been 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 2,089 with a fatality rate of 1.06 percent.

To stem the spread of the virus, Korea extended the highest Level 4 distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two weeks through Aug. 8. The toughest distancing restrictions ban 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 non-capital areas Tuesday better to contain the virus during the summer holiday season.

"For the road to the promised herd immunity to be smooth, we must put out the flames made by the current fourth viral wave," Kim said. "Currently, the quarantine stage is at the highest Level 4, but the fear and tension of infection do not seem to be keeping up the distancing rules."

The fact that there is no decrease in movement, which shows if the distancing rules are working properly, reflects such points, he added.

Kim asked people to follow the quarantine rules and commented that the nation could not stop the Covid-19 without putting a hold on daily activities.