The resurgence of COVID-19, which until now has largely centered in the Seoul metropolitan area, is picking up speed outside the region.

As of 12:00 a.m. Tuesday, 658 out of one-thousand-476 daily new domestic cases, or 44-point-six percent, were reported from outside the metro area. That is the highest tally for outside the capital region since the resurgence began.

The epidemic's fourth wave is particularly spreading quickly in the southeastern Gyeongsang region, with a record 171 daily new cases reported in the port city of Busan on Saturday.

In Daegu, the first wave hotspot from February 2020, the daily tally surpassed 100 on Wednesday for the first time since March 11, last year, when the first wave began to wane.

Local governments have raised social distancing to Level Four, shut down beaches, cancelled rallies and public events, and restricted private gatherings past 6:00 p.m. to a maximum of two people.