Korea's daily COVID-19 cases exceed 240,000 for 3rd day
A woman wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant as a precaution against COVID-19 at a local polling station of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election in Seoul, March 4. AP-Yonhap
South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections stayed above 240,000 for the third consecutive day Saturday amid the fast spreading of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 243,628 new cases, including 243,540 local ones, raising the total caseload to 4,456,264.
The daily tally fell from 254,327 cases Friday and a record-high 266,853 cases Thursday. Daily cases surpassed 200,000 for the first time Wednesday since the country reported the first virus case in January 2020.
The total COVID-19 caseload surpassed 4 million Saturday, just five days after reaching the 3 million mark. The total count surpassed the 1 million mark earlier this month, the KDCA said.
The surge in infections pushed up the numbers of COVID-19 deaths and critically ill patients.
The country added 161 more deaths, bringing the toll to 8,957 for a fatality rate of 0.20 percent.
The number of seriously ill virus patients fell to 885 from 896 a day earlier. (Yonhap)