New infections below 5,000 for 2nd day, distancing rules extended for 2 more weeks
Access to a popular tourist site in the eastern coastal city of Pohang remained restricted, Dec. 31, due to fears of COVID-19 infections among possible crowds for the first sunrise of 2022. Yonhap
New COVID-19 infections stayed below 5,000 for the second day in a row Friday as Korea maintained tough social distancing restrictions to rein in the fast spread of the coronavirus.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 4,416 new cases, including 4,310 local ones, raising the total caseload to 635,253.
The daily figure marks a slight decline from 4,875 tallied Thursday.
Sixty-two more deaths were also recorded, raising the toll to 5,625, for a fatality rate of 0.89 percent.
The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients remained high at 1,049 after reaching an all-time high of 1,151, Wednesday. Critical cases have stayed above 1,000 for 12 consecutive days.
Since hitting an all-time record of 7,848, Dec. 15, daily numbers have crept down to around 5,000 as the government temporarily shelved its "Living with COVID-19" strategy and restored tough social distancing restrictions.
On Friday, the government announced the extension of those measures, including a four-person cap on private gatherings nationwide and a 9 p.m. business hour curfew on cafes and restaurants, for two more weeks through mid-January to stem the virus upsurge and the Omicron variant.
On Saturday, the country reported 220 new Omicron cases, bringing the total to 1,114 ― among them, 94 were imported and 126 transmitted locally.
Of all local cases, 1,429 were in Seoul, 1,359 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 239 in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of the capital. (Yonhap)