New COVID-19 cases below 5,000 for 1st time in 20 days; critical cases remain high
Medical workers in booths take nasal samples from people at a makeshift testing site in Seoul, Dec. 22. AP-Yonhap
South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in 20 days Monday due partly to antivirus restrictions and fewer tests over the weekend, but the number of critical cases remained high.
The country added 4,207 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 611,670, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure marked the first time daily cases fell below 5,000 since Dec. 7, and represented a sharp deline from a daily record high of 7,849 on Dec. 15.
The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients slightly fell to 1,078 after reaching an all-time high of 1,105 on Saturday, the KDCA said.
The country added 55 more deaths from the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 5,300. The fatality rate stood at 0.87 percent.
The country also reported 69 new omicron variant cases, bringing the total to 445. Among them, 181 Omicron variant cases are imported and 264 locally transmitted, the KDCA said.
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.
Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 1,466, while 1,160 came from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 227 from Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul.
The KDCA said 82 cases came from overseas, raising the caseload to 16,907.
As of Monday, 85.7 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 29.6 percent had gotten booster shots, the health agency said.
Health authorities said South Korea has signed a pre-purchase contract for oral COVID-19 pills to provide treatment to 604,000 patients. (Yonhap)