Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the number of daily COVID-19 cases has exceeded two-thousand again after five days while nine in ten domestic transmissions are of the highly contagious delta variant. 

The prime minister said during a COVID response meeting on Wednesday that an analysis of 24-thousand domestic infections has found that the delta variant produces more than 300 times the amount of virus compared to previous strains during the initial phase. 

He called for vigilance, saying that the current outbreak is on a whole new level. 

He said small merchants are suffering more than at any other time due to the strong social distancing restrictions and promised to provide relief funds as soon as possible.