eFM News

South Korea has added 1,943 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, along with six more virus-related fatalities.

The tally announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday includes 1,921 domestic infections, 80 percent of which were from the greater Seoul area, and 22 imported cases.

Since the start of the pandemic, 279,930 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the country and 2,386 deaths.

South Koreans will have a five-day holiday starting Saturday to celebrate Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.

Millions of travelers are expected to hit the roads and air.

But authorities have been urging people to stay at home and avoid group gatherings to reduce the risk of getting and spreading the virus.

Special antivirus measures will be enforced over the holiday to support public safety, including the operation of temporary COVID-19 testing clinics at expressway rest stops.

Current social distancing measures -- Level 4 in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, and Level 3 in most all other regions -- will remain in place through October 3, restricting the size of private social gatherings and restaurant business hours.

Meanwhile, health officials continue to all eligible adults to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The government said it expects to get 70 percent of adults inoculated with one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this week.

According to the KDCA, 68 percent of the country's population of over 51 million have already received their first shot, and 41 percent have been fully vaccinated.