Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday remained under 1,000 for the second consecutive day in light of the country's extension of tighter social distancing measures for two weeks, officials said.

The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 938, 52 fewer than the 990 tally Monday and down 351 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 903 were local infections and 35 were from overseas.

On Monday, Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 1,000 for the first time since mid-November, when the nation saw a jump in new infections following the government's "living with COVID-19" campaign implementation that month. Daily cases soared 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 229,801, and its total number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 18 to 1,865.

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. (Yonhap)