Korea reports 39,600 new COVID-19 cases amid eased antivirus curbs

People wear face masks as a precaution against COVID-19 as they visit Children's Grand Park on Children's Day in Seoul, May 5. AP-Yonhap

Nearly 40,000 new COVID-19 cases were recorded for Friday, marking a gradual decrease in infections, amid eased social distancing rules designed to return the country to normalcy.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 39,600 new infections, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,504,334.

The figure was up from Thursday's 26,714, but marked a 13-week low for Fridays.

Daily infections have been on the downward trend in recent weeks after soaring to over 620,000 in mid-March due to the fast spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The figure fell to nearly a three-month low of 20,076, last Sunday.

Eighty-three more deaths were recorded bringing the total to 23,289, the KDCA said, for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 419, slightly down from 423 a day earlier.

As of Saturday, 44.55 million people, or 86.8 percent of the population, had been vaccinated with the first two shots, and 33.17 million people (64.6 percent) had received their first booster shots.

The number of those having had second booster shots came to 2.83 million, or 5.5 percent of the population, the KDCA said.

In line with the recent gradual decrease in infections, the government has removed almost all strict antivirus rules to support a return to normalcy.

Effective Monday, the government lifted the outdoor mask mandate after more than 18 months of enforcement, except for large gatherings of 50 or more.

Last month, the government also fully lifted private gathering limits and business hour curfews.

But mask wearing is still recommended when it is difficult for people to keep a 1-meter distance from each other at gatherings, and in circumstances where lots of droplets of saliva could be expelled, such as shouting and singing.

The government has also made it clear that indoor mask wearing needs to be in place for some time.

The health authorities said the downturn in infections is expected to continue at least for the month to come, but they remained vigilant over a possible uptick due to the emergence of new variants and seasonal factors.

Earlier this week, the authorities confirmed the country's first case of the even more contagious Omicron subvariant dubbed BA.2.12.1.

In accordance with changing circumstances, the government has been working to adjust the country's medical response system with a greater focus on virus-vulnerable groups and seriously ill patients. (Yonhap)