South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit over 5-month low as Omicron slows

People enjoy a vacation at Gangmun Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, June 19. Yonhap

New COVID-19 cases fell to their lowest level in more than five months Sunday, partly due to fewer tests over the weekend, but also providing a clear indication that the spread of the Omicron variant is slowing.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) added 3,538 new infections, including 96 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,280,090.

Sunday's figure marks the lowest since the 3,094 reported for Jan. 10. Daily infection numbers tend to drop over weekends due to fewer tests.

The KDCA reported 10 more deaths from COVID-19, putting the toll at 24,451 for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 72, up from 70 the previous day.

The slowing Omicron trend has brought down the daily infection numbers, mostly to the four-digit range, since earlier this month, after the country came out of the worst wave that sent cases to peak at over 620,000 in mid-March.

But the government last Friday decided to retain the seven-day self-isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients for four more weeks until July 17, citing the risks of yet another virus resurgence.

Lifting the self-isolation mandate would mean a significant step in efforts toward the return of pre-pandemic normalcy as South Korea removed most social distancing restrictions, except a mask mandate, in mid-April.

Officials said weekly deaths should stay under 100 and the fatality rate needs to fall below 0.1 percent for the isolation rule to be lifted. (Yonhap)