SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea decided on Saturday to extend its tightened social-distancing rules for two more weeks amid a continued COVID-19 resurgence.
The Seoul metropolitan area will be placed under the second-highest Level 2.5 social-distancing guidelines for two more weeks until Jan. 17, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
The country's five-tier distancing scheme was elevated from the lowest Level 1 to Level 1.5 on Nov. 19 in the capital area, which covers Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon.
It was raised to Level 2 for two weeks between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7, before being lifted to Level 2.5 for four weeks until Jan. 3 in the greater Seoul area.
In the latest tally, the country reported 824 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 62,593. The daily caseload fell below 900 in five days due to fewer tests on the New Year's holiday.
The daily caseload hovered above 100 since Nov. 8. The daily average number of confirmed cases for the past week was 956 nationwide, with the reading in the Seoul metropolitan area standing at 652.1.
All the other areas, which exclude the capital region, will be placed under the third-highest Level 2.0 social-distancing regulations for two more weeks.
