South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 1,800 on Saturday, though the country kept tight vigilance with the extension of stringent social distancing measures ahead of a major national holiday.

The country added 1,804 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,776 local infections, raising the total caseload to 258,913, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The latest tally is up from 1,709 reported Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for the last two months.

The country added seven more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,315, the KDCA said. The fatality rate came to 0.89 percent.

The health authorities have been stepping up anti-virus efforts as the pandemic has shown few signs of abating due in large part to the spread of the more transmissible COVID-19 strains, including the delta variant.

Ahead of Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, which takes place from Sept. 18-22, the authorities decided to keep the current distancing measures -- Level 4 in the greater Seoul area, which is the highest in the four-tier system, and Level 3 in other regions -- through Oct. 3.

But some of the restrictions will be eased.

The country has been banning gatherings of more than four people nationwide, but health authorities have decided to allow gatherings of up to six in the capital area, though they should include at least two vaccinated people during the daytime and four after 6 p.m.

Health authorities, meanwhile, expect the country's daily infection tally to reach a peak of 2,300 later this month before falling gradually.

A total of 29.87 million people, or 58.2 percent of the country's 52 million population, have received their first shots of

COVID-19 vaccines, and 17.48 million people, or 34 percent, have been fully vaccinated, the KDCA said.

The country plans to provide at least one jab to 70 percent of the population by the end of September to create herd immunity in November. South Korea's inoculation program, however, recently has been challenged by a delayed supply of shots.

Of the newly confirmed domestic cases, 564 were from Seoul, 576 from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 98 from the western port city of Incheon, the authorities said.

Imported cases, which include South Korean nationals, came to 28.

The number of patients with serious symptoms across the country reached 376, up nine from the previous day.

The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries was 230,405, up 1,787 from the previous day. (Yonhap)