Travelers at Gimpo Airport line up to check-in for their flights on July 30, 2021. (Photo: Yonhap)
South Korea reported 1,710 new coronavirus infections on Friday as the fourth wave continues to rage on.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said it confirmed 1,662 local transmissions and 48 brought in from overseas the previous day for a total caseload of 196,806.
The latest tally is up from 1,674 cases reported Thursday but lower than the record 1,896 infections on Wednesday.
The daily count is expected to rise in the days to come due to the more transmissible Delta variant and as people move around more during the summer vacation season.
The KDCA added four more COVID-19 related fatalities, raising the death toll to 2,089.
Health authorities are concerned amid an increasing number of patients outside the capital region.
It has prompted officials to upgrade social distancing to Level 3 in all areas other than Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, which is under the highest Level 4 distancing.
These efforts to curb the spread of the disease come as the government says vaccinations are going smoothly.
As of Thursday, a total of 18.72 million people, or 36.5 percent of the country's population, have received their first shots while 7.06 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to the KDCA.
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