New COVID-19 cases below 200,000 for 2nd day amid Omicron wave slowdown

People walk under blooming cherry trees in Jinhae, Changwon, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, April 9. Yonhap

Korea's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 for the second straight day Saturday amid a downtrend in the virus curve, as the government is poised to further relax antivirus curbs in efforts to return to normalcy.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 164,481 new infections, including 27 from overseas, and bringing the total caseload to 15,333,670 out of the country's 52 million population.

The daily count has trended in or below the 200,000 range over the past week, marking a downward trend after reaching a peak of 621,180, March 17, as the Omicron wave appears to be slowing.

The KDCA recorded 329 new deaths, lower than Friday's 338, for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent; while the number of critically ill patients reached 1,114, up 15 from the previous day.

This week, the health authorities are expected to announce a new "post-Omicron plan" aimed at further lifting social distancing and normalizing the medical system to pre-pandemic days.

People are likely to be allowed to go mask-free outside.

The government is also expected to downgrade its COVID-19 classification from the current Class 1, the highest in a four-tier system, in a step toward handling the disease as endemic.

As of midnight Saturday, 44.51 million people, or 86.7 percent of the population, had been fully vaccinated, while 32.92 million people, representing 64.2 percent, had received booster shots, according to the KDCA. (Yonhap)