Korea's daily Covid-19 tally rose back above 1,500 on Tuesday, as new cases, including variants, spread rapidly outside the Seoul metro region.
The country added 1,540 Covid-19 cases, including 1,476 local infections, raising the total caseload to 213,987, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was up from 1,492 on Thursday. Nine more people died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,134 with a fatality rate of 1 percent.
The health authorities said that virus infections in the greater Seoul area showed signs of slowing due to the toughest social distancing measures but expressed concerns about cases piling up outside the capital areas.
Health officials are struggling to come up with a solution as the share of confirmed cases outside the capital area – Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province -- soared to almost 45 percent, reaching the highest level since the start of the fourth viral wave.
To curb the spread of the virus, the government again extended the current social distancing scheme of Level 4 in the greater Seoul area and Level 3 in the non-capital area for another two weeks while maintaining restrictions on private gatherings until Aug. 22.
Some provincial administrations preemptively lifted social distancing to that of the wider Seoul area to stem further spreads.
For instance, Busan and Daejeon have raised their distancing rules to Level 4 until Aug. 22, as new infections have soared in the cities in recent weeks.
In Seoul, the central government warned Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church and his followers against holding rallies on the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day, stressing that it would take strict measures if they hold rallies in violation of quarantine rules.
"Considering the very serious situation resulting from the National Liberation Day assembly, we strongly request a restraint on holding rallies," Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol said.
Meanwhile, the Moon Jae-in administration is experiencing difficulties securing Covid-19 vaccines, as Moderna notified Seoul that it could not provide the promised doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
Moderna told the Korean government that it would supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine planned for August due to its production problems.
Due to the bottleneck in vaccine supply, experts expressed concerns that Korea may not administer a single vaccination shot to 36 million people, or 70 percent of its population, by September and reach herd immunity in November.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the government would call for Moderna to supply its Covid-19 vaccine as agreed on.
"The government will make all-out efforts to call on Moderna to swiftly supply the vaccine and seek international cooperation to help achieve the goal of inoculating 36 million people before the Chuseok holiday," Hong said while presiding over a Cabinet meeting on behalf of Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum now in vacation.
Since the government launched its vaccination program in late February, about 21.37 million people, or 41.6 percent of the population, have received their first shots of Covid-19 vaccines.