South Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for 12th day amid Omicron slowdown

New conscripts salute their families at a boot camp in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, June 20, during a ceremony to mark the beginning of five weeks of basic military training. The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented family members from attending such ceremonies for more than two years. Yonhap

New COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the 12th day, Monday, marking a steady decline in the virus curve amid the slowdown in the spread of the Omicron variant.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said there were 9,310 new infections, including 76 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,289,373.

The latest tally is more than double the previous day's 3,538, but the daily counts tend to fall sharply Sunday due to fewer tests before climbing back Monday.

The public health agency reported 12 more deaths, putting the toll at 24,463 for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 68, down from 72 the previous day.

South Korea has managed to bring down the daily infection numbers at a steady pace, after the country suffered its worst wave of the coronavirus that infected more than 620,000 people in one day, in March.

However, the government is remaining cautious about relaxing more virus curbs over prevailing risks of another virus resurgence. It decided to maintain the seven-day self-isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients until July 17, a second extension after putting off the plan once in late May.

South Korea removed most social distancing restrictions, except an outdoor mask mandate, in mid-April amid efforts to restore pre-pandemic normalcy.

Health officials say weekly deaths should stay under 100 and the fatality rate needs to fall below 0.1 percent for the isolation rule to be lifted. (Yonhap)