New COVID-19 cases hit 11-week low for Thursday amid virus slowdown

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest number in nearly three months for a Thursday count, as the virus wave is slowing down at a steady pace.

The country reported 33,009 new COVID-19 infections, including 255 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,535,940, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The latest tally is down by more than 8,200 from the previous day and the lowest for a Thursday figure since 18,494 recorded on July 7.

The virus wave, triggered by the spread of an omicron variant, has been waning with a steady decline in the infections after a resurgence in July that later peaked above 180,000 cases in mid-August.

On Thursday, South Korea reported 59 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 28,009.

The number of critically ill patients came to 428, down by 66 from Wednesday, the KDCA said.