New COVID-19 cases rise to over 50,000 amid moves to return to normalcy

High school students wearing face masks take a selfie ahead of their field trip in Seoul, May 2, the first day after the lifting of the government's outdoor mask mandate. Yonhap

New COVID-19 cases rose to over 50,000, Monday, from a nearly three-month low the previous day, as the government seeks a return to normalcy amid a recent gradual decrease in infections.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 51,131 new infections, including 45 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,346,753.

Monday's count more than doubled from Sunday's 20,084; but still marked a drop from a week earlier when the figure remained above 80,000.

Forty-nine deaths were added, down from Sunday's 83, bringing the total to 23,007, the KDCA said, for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 417, down from 461 reported the previous day, and the fourth day in a row marking a decline.

As the country has seen a downward trend in new infections after the worst virus wave driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the government has eased strict antivirus rules to support the people's return to normalcy.

On Monday, the government lifted the outdoor mask mandate after more than 18 months of enforcement, except for large gatherings of 50 or more.

Last month, the government also fully lifted private gathering limits and business hour curfews.

But mask wearing is still recommended when it is difficult for people to keep a 1-meter distance from each other at gatherings and in circumstances where lots of droplets of saliva could be expelled, such as shouting and singing.

The government also made it clear that indoor mask wearing needs to be in place for some time being.

As of midnight Monday, 44.55 million people, or 86.8 percent of the population, had been vaccinated with the first two shots, and 33.14 million people had received their first booster shots, representing 64.6 percent.

The number of those having the second booster shot came to 2.2 million, or 4.4 percent of the population, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)

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