New COVID-19 cases rise to over 13,000 amid eased virus curbs
A resident undergoes a COVID-19 test at a makeshift testing station in Seoul, June 6. Yonhap
New COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 13,000 for Tuesday following an extended weekend, as the country is working to return to pre-pandemic normalcy by easing antivirus restrictions.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) recorded 13,358 infections, including 59 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,188,200.
The daily caseload had stayed below 10,000 from Saturday due to fewer tests being conducted over the weekend and Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
But Tuesday's figure is still about 20 percent fewer than that logged a week earlier amid the continued downward trend in recent months as the highly transmissible Omicron variant has waned.
The country added six COVID-19 deaths, the lowest number in about eight months, with the toll reaching 24,305 for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 114, down from 117 the previous day.
As of Wednesday, 44.6 million, or 86.9 percent of the population, had completed the full two-dose vaccination protocol, and 33.32 million (64.9 percent) had received their first booster shots.
More than 4.19 million people, or 8.2 percent of the population, have had second booster shots, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)