South Korea reported 166 new coronavirus cases as of Friday, of which 155 were domestic, prompting the reimposition of tighter social distancing curbs in Seoul area as authorities worried about the spectre of a fresh wave of the disease.
South Korea used invasive tracing and widespread testing to contain its first outbreak of the novel coronavirus, but Asia’s fourth-largest economy has experienced persistent outbreaks in recent weeks, mostly in the densely populated capital area.
For the second day in a row in over four months, the country has reported a sudden jump in locally transmitted cases, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
The new cases took South Korea’s tally to 15,039 with 305 deaths by Friday midnight. The recent spike in infections are emerging in multiple church gatherings.
