S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 200,000 for 2nd day amid slowdown in omicron wave

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 for the second straight day Sunday amid a downtrend in the virus curve, as the country is poised to further relax antivirus curbs in efforts to return to normalcy.

The country added 164,481 new COVID-19 infections, including 27 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,333,670 out of the 52 million population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The daily count has trended in or below the 200,000 range in the past week, marking a downward curve after reaching the peak of 621,180 on March 17, as the omicron wave has been slowing.

The country reported 329 new COVID-19 deaths, down from Saturday's 338, with the fatality rate standing at 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients reached 1,114, up 15 from the previous day.

This week, health authorities are expected to announce a new "post-omicron scheme" aimed at further lifting social distancing and normalizing the medical system to the pre-pandemic days.

People are likely to be allowed to go mask-free outside.

The government is also expected to downgrade the COVID-19 classification from the current Class 1, the highest in the four-tier system, in a step toward handling COVID-19 as an endemic disease.

As of midnight Saturday, 44.51 million people, or 86.7 percent of the population, had been fully vaccinated, while 32.92 million people, representing 64.2 percent, had received booster shots, according to the KDCA. (Yonhap)