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Medical staff prepare for COVID-19 tests at a screening clinic at Seoul Square on Friday. (Yonhap) |
South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 6,000 for the first time in four days Saturday, apparently as a result of antivirus restrictions, but critical cases surged to another record high.
The country added 5,842 more COVID-19 cases, including 5,767 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 602,051, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Saturday's tally is sharply down from 6,233 cases on Friday and 6,917 cases on Thursday.
The number of critically ill patients, however, came to a fresh high of 1,105, the KDCA said, breaking the previous record high of 1,084 tallied Friday.
The country added 105 more deaths from COVID-19, the second-highest daily death toll behind 109 on Thursday, raising the total to 5,176. The fatality rate stood at 0.86 percent.
The country also reported 81 new omicron variant cases, the highest daily figure since the variant was first discovered in the country on Dec. 1, bringing the total to 343, the authorities said.
South Korea has been urging people to get booster shots, especially senior citizens, to better protect themselves from COVID-19.
As of Saturday, 85.6 percent of the country's 52 million people had received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82.4 percent had been fully vaccinated, while 29.4 percent had gotten booster shots, the KDCA said.
The country has been enforcing stricter virus restrictions across the country since last weekend, to stem the spread of the virus.
Under the new measures, which will remain in effect until Jan. 2, 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.
The authorities are also focusing on securing hospital beds as the number of critically-ill virus patients continues to grow.
Of the locally transmitted cases confirmed Saturday, Seoul reported 2,091 cases and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital logged 1,663 cases. Incheon, just west of Seoul, registered 398.
There were 75 cases from overseas, raising the total imported cases to 16,745.
Of the 81 newly confirmed omicron variant cases, 42 came from overseas, with the United States accounting for 14 followed by Britain with seven.
Twenty five new omicron variant cases were connected to an outbreak in Iksan, about 180 kilometers south of Seoul, the KDCA said.
The authorities also identified untraceable omicron variant cases in cities like Incheon, Gwangju and Daejeon as well as North Jeolla Province, sparking worries of community transmission. (Yonhap)
