New COVID-19 infections dip below 100,000
A medical worker guides people as they wait for a COVID-19 test at a makeshift testing site in Seoul, Feb. 20. AP-Yonhap
Fewer than 100,000 daily COVID-19 infections were recorded Monday, due largely to less testing over the weekend, amid concerns about the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 95,362 new cases, including 95,218 local ones, raising the total caseload to 2,058,184.
Total cases exceeded the 2 million-mark about two years after the country reported its first COVID-19 cases in January 2020.
Sunday's tally is down from 104,829 recorded Saturday when the country's new caseload surpassed the 100,000-mark for the third day in a row. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 7,450, up 45 from a day earlier for a fatality rate of 0.36 percent, the KDCA said.
The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients was up 42 at 480.
South Korea's virus cases have spiked in recent weeks as the Omicron variant has raged across the country, with the daily count nearly doubling in just a week after surpassing 50,000 for the first time Feb. 10.
The daily caseload exceeded 100,000 for the first time Thursday.
Despite the virus surge, the government decided Friday to extend the business hour curfews for cafes and restaurants by one hour to 10 p.m. in a bid to support pandemic-hit merchants.
The partially relaxed antivirus curbs, which took effect Saturday, will be in place until March 13, with the cap on private gatherings unchanged at six people. (Yonhap)