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| Medical workers wearing personal protective equipment work inside the intensive care unit of the Bagae Hospital in Pyeongtaek, Dec. 1. EPA-Yonhap |
South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 7,000 on Thursday, but critical cases and deaths surged to record highs as the country has reimposed antivirus restrictions amid the resurgence of infections and spread of the Omicron variant.
The country added 6,919 more COVID-19 cases, including 6,856 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 589,978, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Thursday's tally is down from 7,456 on Wednesday but higher than 5,202 reported Tuesday. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend.
The number of critically ill patients came to a fresh high of 1,083, the KDCA said, breaking its previous record high of 1,063 tallied Wednesday.
The country added 109 more deaths from COVID-19, the most in one day since the onset of the pandemic, bringing the total to 5,015. The fatality rate stood at 0.85 percent.
The country reported 12 new omicron variant cases, bringing the total to 246, the authorities said.
On Saturday, the government reimposed a set of revised virus restrictions across the country, which will remain in effect until Jan. 2 to stem the spread of the virus.
It marks a reversal of the government's "Living with COVID-19" scheme that began early last month, with an aim to return to normalcy by relaxing virus restrictions in phased steps.
Under the new measures, the maximum size of private gatherings is limited to four people nationwide, from the previous limit of six in the capital area and eight elsewhere.
A 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. curfew is applied to businesses as well, depending on their type of service.
Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 2,695 infections and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital logged 1,929 cases.
The KDCA said 63 cases came from overseas, raising the caseload to 16,600.
As of Thursday, 85.3 percent of the country's 52 million people had received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82.2 percent had been fully vaccinated, while 26.7 percent had gotten booster shots, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)
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