Seoul, Sep 4 (AP) The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea has stayed below 200 for the second consecutive day amid toughened social distancing rules.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it confirmed 198 additional cases in the latest 24-hour period, taking the country's total to 20,842, with 331 deaths.

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About 70 per cent of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.

South Korea has seen an uptick in infections since early last month, mostly linked to churches, restaurants, schools and fitness centers in the Seoul area.

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The daily case tally surpassed 400 in late August but has since showed a gradual downward trend.

Authorities in the Seoul area have recently restricted dining at restaurants and ordered the shutdown of churches, night establishments and after-school academics.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)