South Korea's COVID-19 deaths surpass 1,000

The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in South Korea has surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday as 26 new fatalities were reported during the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

South Korea is currently facing a virus spike as the country reported 715 more cases during the past 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 64,979, the ministry's latest data showed.

Since Dec. 15, the country’s daily infections remained between 800 to over 1,200.

On Dec. 25, South Korea recorded 1,241 cases, the highest daily infections reported since the first case was reported in the country.

The country has so far reported a total of 64,979 cases with 1,007 deaths and 46,172 recoveries.

The capital Seoul, so far the worst virus-hit area, has reported 193 cases in a day while 214 infections were registered in the Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital.

The government already toughened its coronavirus restrictions in Seoul and its surrounding areas and banned gatherings of five or more people to stem the spread of the virus since last month.

On Dec. 18, Seoul said the country has reached an agreement with Pfizer and Johnson Johnson's Janssen to purchase 20 million doses each from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna.

President Moon Jae-in said on Dec. 29 that the US biotechnology company Moderna has agreed to supply 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to South Korea in the second quarter of this year.

Now the country will be able to secure vaccine doses for around 56 million people.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid