Korea reports 339,514 new COVID-19 cases
Medical workers guide visitors at a COVID-19 screening center in Gwangju, March 24. Yonhap
Korea reported less than 400,000 new cases for the second day in a row Thursday despite the Omicron variant tightening its grip on the country.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 339,514 new infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 11,162,232.
Thursday's daily tally was down from 395,598, Wednesday, and 490,881, Tuesday, which was the second-highest daily caseload.
The death toll came to 14,294, up 393 from the previous day, the KDCA said, for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients stood at 1,085, up four from Wednesday; and has remained over 1,000 for 18 straight days.
Korea is experiencing the worst wave of the pandemic, surpassing the grim milestone of 10 million infections earlier this week. Nearly 9 million cases have been reported since early February. The daily caseload surged to an all-time high of 621,205 last Wednesday.
The spread of the virus is feared to continue unabated amid relaxed social distancing measures and quarantine rules for overseas entrants. Earlier this week, the government eased some of its virus-related regulations to support retail and services sectors bearing the brunt of the pandemic's financial impact. (Yonhap)