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| A person visits a COVID-19 testing center in Seoul on Dec. 7. Yonhap |
Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 70,000 for the second consecutive day Wednesday amid lingering concerns of a winter surge in cases.
The country reported 74,714 new COVID-19 infections, including 60 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 27,483,568, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Wednesday's tally is slightly lower than the previous day but up by more than 7,000 cases compared with the previous week. It is also the highest same day tally in the past 12 weeks.
The country added 54 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 30,847.
The number of critically ill patients stood at 441, down two from the previous day's tally.
Health authorities have remained cautious on recent virus trends and said caseloads are likely to increase in the winter season due to more indoor activities.
Lee Sang-min, minister of the interior and safety, said the government will decide by the end of this month whether to end the indoor mask mandate.
The move came after the central city of Daejeon sent an official document to health authorities last week, notifying them of its plan to take autonomous steps to lift the mask requirement for indoor places.
The indoor mask mandate is the last remaining COVID-19 restriction Korea has kept in place after scrapping other social distancing rules.
Health experts have called for prudence in lifting the indoor mask-wearing rules.
Jung Ki-suck, chair of a private-government advisory panel, previously said such changes could lead to another surge in cases, eventually pushing up the number of critically ill patients as well as COVID-19 deaths. (Yonhap)
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