Korea lifts most COVID-19 restrictions
Health officials stand near tents at a COVID-19 testing center in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, April 18. Yonhap
Daily cases at 10-week low
New COVID-19 cases dipped to a 10-week low Sunday as the Omicron variant-fueled wave continues to recede, leading the government to lift most restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported added 47,743 new infections, including 14 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,353,495.
The new tally is slightly fewer than the 49,546 reported Feb. 9 when the Omicron variant started to rapidly spread across the country.
Daily coronavirus infection numbers peaked at 621,178 cases March 17, and have since been declining. The KDCA reported 107,916 new cases for Friday and 93,001 for Sunday. The previous Sunday's total was 90,917.
The death toll came to 21,224, up 132 from the previous day for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent; while the number of critically ill patients came to 850, down 43 from Saturday.
The government lifted most coronavirus restrictions Monday, except the mask mandate, in a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life.
Small businesses are now allowed to operate without constraints on hours and capacity. The 10-person cap on private gatherings was also removed.
The government said it will decide whether to lift the outdoor mask mandate after closely monitoring COVID-19 trends across the country over the next two weeks.
As of midnight Sunday, 44.53 million, or 86.8 percent of the 52 million population, had fully been vaccinated, and 33 million, or 64.3 percent, had received booster shots, the KDCA said.
On Monday, reservations opened for a second COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people over 60, four months after their first booster dose.
The government is also set to downgrade COVID-19 to the second-highest level of its four-tier infectious disease control system, April 25, allowing coronavirus patients to be free of mandatory self-quarantine and to receive treatment at local clinics as early as late May.
Health officials have warned, however, that a considerable number of cases are expected to continue to surface for quite some time, although overall risks posed by the pandemic have fallen.
Of the locally transmitted infections, Gyeonggi Province reported 13,926 cases, Seoul saw 7,345 and Incheon, west of Seoul, 2,487. (Yonhap)