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| A medical staff member collects specimens from a person for COVID-19 testing at a temporary screening station in front of Seoul Station, Nov. 19. Yonhap |
New COVID-19 infections stayed above 3,000 for the fourth consecutive day here Friday, raising concerns over a virus resurgence ahead of winter and the full-fledged reopening of schools.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 3,212 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,194 local ones, raising the total caseload to 412,311.
Friday's number was up 178 from the previous day and marks the third-largest tally since the pandemic began.
Daily cases have stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7 amid growing infection clusters and the spread of more transmissible variants.
The country added 29 more deaths, bringing the death toll to 3,244 for a fatality rate of 0.79 percent.
The number of critically-ill patients reached 508, surpassing the 500 threshold for the first time in two days.
Daily infections have shown no signs of slowing in recent weeks, after the government began easing antivirus restrictions, Nov. 1, for a gradual return to pre-pandemic life under its three-phase "Living with COVID-19" plan.
The administration planned to move to the second stage in mid-December after a two-week evaluation period, but the health authorities have warned the country may not be able to do so if the current trend continues.
The virus resurgence has spawned concerns about the winter season, especially ahead of a full opening of in-person classes at schools next week.
Of the locally transmitted cases, 1,372 were in Seoul, 988 were in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 204 were in the western port city of Incheon.
Combined, the Seoul metropolitan area accounted for 80.3 percent of all cases nationwide.
A total of 42.2 million people, or 82.2 percent of the country's population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 40.45 million people, or 78.8 percent, have been fully vaccinated, the KDCA said.
The government has also been working to administer booster shots to senior citizens and other vulnerable groups, as breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people have grown due to waning vaccine effectiveness. (Yonhap)
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