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| A COVID-19 test center near Seoul Station Plaza is empty, May 24. Yonhap |
New COVID-19 cases stayed in the 20,000s for the second consecutive day Tuesday, down nearly 7,400 cases from a week ago, as the coronavirus appears to be retreating.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 23,956 new infections, including 21 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,017,923.
The daily tally fell to a 16-week low for a Tuesday and declined 23.5 percent from a week earlier, in an apparent sign of the pandemic slowing down.
South Korea's daily caseload peaked at over 621,000, March 17, driven by the rapid nationwide spread of the Omicron variant.
The KDCA said there were 23 more, taking the total to 24,029 for a fatality rate of at 0.13 percent, while the number of critically ill patients stood at 237. (Yonhap)
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