South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases reached the highest in 22 days Saturday, stubbornly remaining above 400 for the fifth consecutive day.

The country reported 490 more COVID-19 cases, including 474 local infections, raising the total caseload to 95,176, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

The country added five more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,667.

The daily caseload has stayed in the 400s since early this week, with 470 cases Wednesday, 465 cases Thursday and 488 Friday, stoking concerns about the resurgent virus. The latest figure is the highest since Feb. 19, when the country confirmed 561 cases.

The tally had been steadily declining since it reached its peak on Christmas with 1,241 cases on the back of strong virus curbs, including a ban on private gatherings of five or more people.

But the country has recently struggled to further flatten the virus curve, with the daily figure stuck in the 300s and 400s over the past few weeks amid a spate of new cluster infections and increasing travel due to warmer weather.

The government earlier announced it will maintain the current virus curb measures, originally set to expire Sunday, until March
28 to contain the virus's spread.

The measures include attendance caps at schools, religious activities and sports events.

The greater Seoul area is currently under the Level 2 social distancing scheme, the third highest in the country's five-tier system, while other regions are placed under Level 1.5.

The country is also working to finalize a new four-tier social distancing system by the end of this month. Authorities say the revamped virus curbs, however, will only be implemented after the virus cases fall significantly.

South Korea's vaccination campaign, which started Feb. 26, has picked up steam, with 1 percent of the country's 52 million population receiving their first jabs.

A total of 583,658 people, including 37,381 the previous day, have been inoculated.

The country approved the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for people aged 65 and older based on new overseas studies Thursday.

Health authorities initially excluded the age group from the pharmaceutical company's vaccine, citing insufficient data.

On Saturday, the government said the country's general public will begin being vaccinated in April, with those aged 65 and older given priority.

South Korea aims to achieve herd immunity by November.

Of the 474 locally transmitted cases, 138 additional cases were reported in Seoul and 160 in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, identified 26 new cases.

The three areas, which make up the greater capital region and serve as home to about half of the nation's 52 million population, accounted for 68.4 percent of the new local cases.

There were an additional 16 imported cases, raising the total caseload to 7,283.

The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients was 126, down by one from the previous day.

The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries was 86,625, up 882 from a day earlier. (Yonhap)