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- S. Korea reports 28 more cases of new coronavirus, total now at 12,563
- 1 additional coronavirus death, total death toll at 282
- 44 more people released after full recoveries from coronavirus, total cured patients at 10,974
South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell back to below 30 Thursday, but the country is still on alert over another wave of virus outbreak amid continued rises in cluster infections and imported cases.
The country added 28 cases, including 23 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,563, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The tally marked a sharp fall from 51 new cases reported Wednesday and 46 additional cases Tuesday.
Of the locally transmitted cases, 18 cases were reported in densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas. Four cases were reported in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
South Korea has been gripped by sporadic cluster infections since it relaxed stricter social distancing on May 6. The greater Seoul area accounted for most of the newly added cases this month.
Cluster infections continued to swell, with most traced to logistics centers, door-to-door retailers and small churches.
Cases tied to a door-to-door sales establishment in southern Seoul reached 205 as of noon Wednesday.
E-commerce leader Coupang shut down its distribution center in Icheon, south of Seoul, on Wednesday after one of its contract workers was infected with the virus. Cases linked to a warehouse operated by Coupang in Bucheon, west of Seoul, reached at least 152.
The country reported five new cases tied to a social club meeting near the Han River last week.
The KCDC has said the Seoul metropolitan area is already in a second wave of the new coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country should brace for a protracted virus fight. The first wave of the virus outbreak gripped the country between February and March.
Health authorities warned that they could consider expanding tougher infection preventive measures -- currently in place only in the Seoul metropolitan area -- across the country.
The country is also struggling to stem cases coming in from overseas. Five additional imported cases were reported, with the number of such cases rising to 1,496.
Recently, cluster infections on a Russia-flagged cargo ship docked in the southeastern city of Busan, the country's second-largest city, have been reported, and cases traced to overseas have been on a steady rise.
At least 17 sailors aboard two Russian ships tested positive for COVID-19.
Health authorities are conducting virus tests on some 163 port workers, repairmen and others who came into contact with the infected crewmembers. Of them, 152 people have tested negative.
On Wednesday, health authorities conducted on-board quarantine inspections of vessels arriving from Russia at Busan ports.
Imported cases, once the main source of virus cases here, fell to a single-digit figure early this month after the country strengthened quarantine measures on all international arrivals in April.
But such cases have bounced back to double-digit numbers since mid-June.
South Korea, meanwhile, reported one additional death, bringing the total death toll to 282. The fatality rate was 2.24 percent.
The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,974, up 44 from the previous day.
The country has carried out 1,220,478 tests since Jan. 3. (Yonhap)
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