Seoul, July 9 (TIWN) The US Forces Korea (USFK) said on Friday that it will tighten quarantine measures for American service members for two weeks amid an ongoing resurgence in South Korea.

Regardless of vaccination status, all bars and clubs will be off-limits for US troops in the country for the two weeks.   All USFK-affiliated individuals will be required to wear masks indoors on all installations, while travel to Areas I and II in the Seoul metropolitan area will be off-limits except for individuals who live, work or are conducting mission essential activities, the statement said.   The tightened measures came amid the soaring number of infections, especially in the greater Seoul area.   

On Friday, South Korea reported 1,316 new cases, lifting the total number of infections to 165,344.   It was the highest daily caseload since the country's first was detected on January 20 last year.   

The recent resurgence was attributed to cluster infections in Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the west port city of Incheon.    Almost 80 per cent of the new cases was reported in the metropolitan area.