Korea reports 431 more cases of new coronavirus
A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus takes an escalator down in Seoul, Jan. 21. AP
The health authorities said Saturday that the number of daily new COVID-19 cases here rose back to above 400 for Friday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 431 more infections, including 403 locally transmitted ones, raising the total caseload to 74,692
The number of new infections was tallied at 404 for Tuesday, and 401 the following day, before failing to 346 for Thursday in the midst of toughened social distancing restrictions.
Seoul and Gyeonggi Province had 127 and 117 cases, respectively, with 33 reported in Busan and 32 in South Gyeongsang Province.
Nine additional coronavirus deaths were reported to bring the death toll to 1,337 with a fatality rate of 1.79 percent.
The authorities conducted a total of 47,484 coronavirus tests Friday, 2,866 more than the previous day, the KDCA said.
An additional 629 patients were released from coronavirus treatment, while 297 are being treated for serious symptoms, the agency added. (Yonhap)