South Korea's new COVID-19 cases around 35,000
A COVID-19 screening center near Seoul Station is empty, Seoul, May 16. Yonhap
New COVID-19 cases hit a little over 35,000, Monday, the lowest tally for the day in more than three months, reflecting the slowing virus trend amid efforts to restore pre-pandemic normalcy.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 35,117 new infections, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,830,429.
The latest figure is a big jump from the previous day's 13,296, but daily numbers tend to fall over the weekend through Sundays due mainly to fewer tests, before bouncing back Mondays.
In terms of cases for Monday, the count is the lowest since 18,333 reported Jan. 31.
The decline demonstrates the slowing virus trend in the country that had been gripped by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant earlier this year. The daily cases had surged to over 620,000 at one point in March.
The KDCA reported 27 deaths, raising the total to 23,771 for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 333, down from the previous day's 345.
The government plans to decide later this week whether to further relax COVID-19-related restrictions, as the four-week interim period set to prepare for a post-pandemic plan is due to end Friday.
The focus is on whether the health authorities will lift the seven-day mandatory quarantine requirement for confirmed patients, as its removal is bound to reshape the virus response system in the prolonged battle against the pandemic.
As of midnight Monday, 44.56 million, or 86.8 percent of the population, had completed the full two-dose vaccinations, and 33.23 million (64.8 percent) had received their first booster shots. A total of 3.52 million people have had their second booster shots, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)