Korea's daily Covid-19 tally rose above 2,200 on Wednesday, marking the highest level since the start of the pandemic in January last year.
The country added 2,223 Covid-19 cases, including 2,145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 216,206, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was up from 1,540 on Tuesday. One more person died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,135 with a fatality rate of 0.99 percent.
The surge in virus cases comes even after the government's successive extension of high-intensity quarantine measures, including the Level 4 social distancing scheme in and around Seoul and the ban on private gatherings of three or more people after 6 p.m.
But the toughest virus restrictions seem to have had little impact in flattening the virus curve during the summer holiday season, combined with loose vigilance against the coronavirus and fast spread of delta variant.
Epidemiological experts also expressed concerns that the spread of the Delta variant with far stronger transmission power has become the dominant virus in Korea.
From Aug. 1-7, the country reported 2,641 more cases of four major coronavirus variants, bringing the total caseload to 10,766, the KCDA said. Of the newly confirmed variant cases, 96.7 percent were the Delta strains.
The health authorities are expressing anxiety about the even wider spread of the variant around the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day when large outdoor rallies are scheduled and the reopening of elementary, middle, and high schools later this month.
President Moon Jae-in also raised concerns about the surge in virus cases.
"Despite people's self-sacrificing cooperation and the efforts of the quarantine authorities, the number of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases has exceeded 2,000, raising great worries," Moon said. "The recent increase in the number of confirmed cases is a global phenomenon due to the spread of Delta variants, and Korea still maintains relatively better situations than other countries."
However, if the country fails to stop the current spread of infection, it is feared to become a turning point in the anti-Covid-19 fight, he added.
Moon asked for the continued cooperation of the people as the driving force of successful quarantine and stressed that the government would do its best to stabilize the spread of the infection.
Despite the chief executive’s pledge, the government's vaccination program is experiencing a delay due to glitches in securing vaccines on time.
The country aims to administer a single vaccination shot to 36 million people, or 70 percent of its population, by September with hopes of reaching herd immunity in November.
Since the government launched its vaccination program in late February, about 21.63 million people, or 42.1 percent of the population, have received their first shots of Covid-19 vaccines.