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| One of the members of Korean Red Cross' Red Cross Youth (RCY) makes a mask for socially vulnerable groups in the country to prevent themselves from contracting COVID-19. Some 1,250 instructors and staff members of RCY from Seoul's 54 middle and high schools participated in the do-it-yourself activity, according to the organization on Sept. 18. Yonhap |
South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 200 for the 16th straight day on Friday, but local infections remained in the triple digits on rises in sporadic cluster infections and untraceable cases.
The country added 126 more COVID-19 cases, including 109 local infections, raising the total caseload to 22,783, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Five more patients died, raising the death toll to 377.
It marked a fall from 153 new cases reported Thursday, but the tally was higher than 113 cases Wednesday. Health authorities are seeking to bring the daily new cases down under 100.
The number of locally transmitted infections remained in the triple digits for the third straight day.
The country's new virus cases have been on a slowing trend on the back of tougher social distancing guidelines, but a marked slowdown appears to be some way off due to cases with unknown infection routes and cluster infections.
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| Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during Friday's central disaster safety countermeasures meeting at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu District. Yonhap |
Over the past two weeks, the number of cases with unidentified transmission routes reached a fresh record high of 26.4 percent of the total new cases.
The country's new virus cases have been in the triple digits for over a month, due mainly to cases tied to a church in northern Seoul and a political rally in the capital in mid-August. Daily infections soared to 441 on Aug. 27.
To contain the fast spread of COVID-19, the country adopted an enhanced social distancing scheme, called Level 2.5 guidelines, in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area on Aug. 30 and applied it for two weeks.
But in the face of slowing virus cases and economic pains for the self-employed, the country began relaxing the tougher virus curbs on Monday for the next two weeks, allowing restaurants and cafes to operate normally.
Health authorities face a tough challenge in tackling a potential rebound in new virus cases during the upcoming Chuseok fall harvest holiday and curbing both COVID-19 and the flu in the winter. (Yonhap)
