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| People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of COVID-19 sit on swings at a park in Goyang, Jan. 7. AP-Yonhap |
Daily COVID-19 cases bounced back to above 4,000 for the first time in six days Tuesday, putting the health authorities on high alert over a possible resurgence amid Omicron concerns.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 4,388 new coronavirus infections, including 4,007 local ones, raising the total caseload to 674,868.
Tuesday's figure was up 1,291 from a day earlier, but 53 down from the same day last week.
The country recorded 52 more deaths, raising the toll to 6,166, for a fatality rate of 0.91 percent, according to the KDCA.
Critically ill COVID-19 patients stood at 749, staying below 800 for the fourth straight day.
The government has re-imposed toughened antivirus restrictions since mid-December after daily infections soared to nearly 8,000 under the eased "Living with COVID-19" strategy.
The current antivirus curbs, set to be in effect until Sunday, include a four-person cap on private gatherings nationwide and a 9 p.m. business hour curfew on cafes and restaurants.
As the daily caseload has dropped in recent weeks, the government is reviewing whether to relax social distancing rules again from next week to help ease the burden on citizens and small businesses.
The administration is set to hold a meeting later in the day to assess the risk level of the pandemic and decide on possible revisions to the current distancing regulations.
As of Wednesday, 43.22 million people, or 84.2 percent of the country's 52 million population, have been fully vaccinated, and 21.81 million, or 42.5 percent, have received booster shots, the health authorities said.
The number of cases from overseas came to an all-time high of 381, raising that total caseload to 19,800. (Yonhap)
