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| A South Korean citizen headed to Japan self-checks at Incheon International Airport, Thursday, with documents including a medical certificate that proves him tested negative on COVID-19 examination. An agreement between South Korean and Japan to exempt visitors to both countries with business purposes from a 14-day self-quarantine begins Thursday. Yonhap |
The country added 69 COVID-19 cases, including 60 local infections, raising the total caseload to 24,422, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The country's new COVID-19 cases had risen by double digits for six consecutive days since last Friday, but bounced back to 114 on Wednesday.
Health authorities have warned that the country could see an uptick in COVID-19 cases after the five-day Chuseok holiday that ran through last Sunday.
Health authorities are especially concerned that asymptomatic patients could have spread the virus during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday.
The country is also set to have a three-day break from Friday to Sunday when Hangeul Day, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, is combined with the weekend.
The country earlier designated a special two-week period for toughened virus curbs until Sunday to prevent outbreaks.
Of the newly identified local infections, 19 cases were reported in Seoul and 22 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Incheon, west of Seoul, reported five more cases, the KDCA said.
The southern port city of Busan added five cases.
The number of newly identified imported cases came to nine, down from 20 a day earlier, the authorities said.
There were two additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 427, they said. The fatality rate was 1.75 percent.
The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients came to 97, according to the KDCA.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries stood at 22,463, up 129 from the previous day.
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