New infections below 5,000 for 2nd day, distancing curbs extended for 2 more weeks

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 5,000 for the second day in a row Saturday as the nation maintained tough social distancing restrictions to rein in the fast spread of COVID-19. 

The country added 4,416 new COVID-19 infections, including
4,310 local infections, raising the total caseload to 635,253, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  

The daily figure marks a slight decline from 4,875 tallied a day earlier.

South Korea reported 62 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total death toll to 5,625, with the fatality rate at 0.89 percent.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients remained high at 1,049 after reaching an all-time high of 1,151 on Wednesday.

Critical cases have stayed above 1,000 for 12 consecutive days.

Since hitting an all-time record of 7,848 on Dec. 15, daily numbers have slowed down to around 5,000 as the government temporarily shelved its "living with COVID-19" scheme to restore tough social distancing restrictions.

On Friday, the government announced the extension of those rules, including a four-person cap on private gatherings across the nation and a 9 p.m. business hour curfew on cafes and restaurants, for two more weeks through mid-January to stem the virus upsurge and the omicron variant.

On Saturday, the country reported 220 new omicron variant cases, bringing the total to 1,114. Among them, 94 omicron variant cases were imported and 126 locally transmitted.

Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 1,429, while 1,359 came from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 239 from Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)