Seoul's daily COVID

A medical worker takes a sample from a person at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Monday fell below 1,000 for the first time since mid-November, as the country has extended the enforcement of tighter social distancing measures for two more weeks, officials said.

The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 993, 190 fewer compared than the 1,183 tally on Sunday and down 503 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 964 were local infections and 29 were from overseas.

It marked the first time Seoul's daily cases dropped below 1,000 since Nov. 15. New virus patients in the capital since then had climbed, reaching as high as 3,165 on Dec. 14, amid the emergence of the more transmissible omicron variant.

The city's total caseload has risen to 228,867, and its total number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 8 to 1,847.

South Korea has extended the enforcement of toughened virus curbs, including a four-person cap on private gatherings across the nation and a 9 p.m. business hour curfew on cafes and restaurants, for two more weeks until Jan. 16. The move came amid concerns over surging COVID-19 patients and the spread of omicron variant cases. (Yonhap)