New COVID-19 cases bounce back to above 5,000; critical cases hit record high

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 5,000 for the first time in three days Wednesday and the number of critically ill patients surged to a record high.

The country added 5,409 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,283 local infections, raising the total caseload to 620,938, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Wednesday's figure marked a rise from 3,865 on Tuesday and 4,206 on Monday, but it represented a sharp decline from a daily record high of 7,849 on Dec. 15. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients rose to another record high of 1,151, the KDCA said. Previous record high was 1,105 reported on Saturday. Critical cases have stayed above 1,000 for nine consecutive days.

The country added 36 more deaths from the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 5,382. The fatality rate stood at 0.87 percent, unchanged from a day earlier

It marks the first time in 26 days that the daily new deaths dropped below 40.

The country also reported 109 new omicron variant cases, bringing the total to 558.

On Dec. 18, the government reimposed a set of revised virus restrictions across the country, which will remain in effect until Jan. 2 to stem the spread of the virus.

It marks a reversal of the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme that began early last month with an aim to return to normalcy by relaxing virus restrictions in phased steps.

Under the new measures, the maximum size of private gatherings is limited to four people nationwide, from the previous limit of six in the capital area and eight elsewhere.

A 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. curfew is applied to businesses as well, depending on their type of service.

Authorities earlier said they will announce on Friday whether to extend the measures.

Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 1,869, while 1,608 came from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 309 from Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul.

The KDCA said 126 cases came from overseas, up from 88 reported a day earlier. It marks the second time this year that the daily new cases reached a three-digit figure.

As of Wednesday, 85.9 percent of the country's 52 million people had received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82.6 percent had been fully vaccinated, while 32.3 percent had gotten booster shots, the public health agency said. (Yonhap)