S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 30,000 amid slowing virus spread

Published : Oct 19, 2022 - 09:57 Updated : Oct 19, 2022 - 09:57

People wait their turn to get tested for the coronavirus at a testing center in Yongsan, central Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dipped Wednesday, in a sign that the virus curve has yet to change its downward course that the country has seen in recent months.

The country reported 29,503 new COVID-19 infections, including 72 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,194,177, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Wednesday's figure is down 3,745 from a day ago, and more than 1,000 from a week ago.

On Tuesday, the daily figure tripled from Monday's and more than doubled from a week ago, and the country had seen a weekly uptick for five consecutive days, putting health authorities on high alert ahead of a possible winter surge.

The country reported 43 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the death toll to 28,899. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 243, down four from a day earlier, the KDCA said.

South Korea's virus curve has been on the general decline since it peaked at over 180,000 cases on Aug. 17.

In response to the pandemic's slowdown, the government has eased antivirus restrictions, including lifting all outdoor mask mandates and the COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction testing requirement for inbound travelers to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. (Yonhap)