S. Korea’s COVID-19 cases exceed 80,000 amid tough virus curbs
South Korea surpassed a grim milestone in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic as its total COVID-19 caseload broke the 80,000 mark Friday.
The country added 370 more COVID-19 cases, including 351 local infections, raising the total caseload to 80,131, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Daily infections fell from 467 on Wednesday and 451 on Tuesday after staying under 400 the three previous days.
New virus infections had been slowing down since the third wave of the pandemic peaked at a record high of 1,241 daily cases on Dec. 25.
But the number recently spiked due mainly to cluster infections from unauthorized education facilities run by a local Christian missionary group, called the International Mission (IM).
Group infections have been reported from private gatherings and various facilities as well.
Amid a flare-up in virus cases, the KDCA on Sunday extended Level 2.5 social distancing rules, the second highest in a five-tier scheme, in the greater Seoul area and Level 2 measures in other regions for the two weeks to come.
Under the extended rules, gatherings of five or more people are also banned across almost the entire country.
Authorities remain cautious about easing social distancing rules before the Lunar New Year holiday that starts later next week, saying relaxing the curbs runs the risk of an uptick as cluster infections have continued to pop up at religious facilities, hospitals and other risk-prone establishments.
Of the newly identified local infections, 122 cases were reported in Seoul and 110 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, reported 25 more cases.
The southern port city of Busan reported 33 more virus cases, Daegu and the South Chungcheong Province added 14 and 11 more cases, respectively.
The country added 19 imported cases, increasing the total to 6,444. Eight cases came from Asian countries, except for China, followed by five cases from the United States, three from Europe and three from Africa.
The country added 11 more deaths, raising the total to 1,459. The fatality rate was 1.82 percent.
The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients reached 200, down from 211 a day earlier.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries stood at 70,117, up 413 from the previous day.
The country has carried out 5,847,178 coronavirus tests since Jan. 3, 2020. The country reported its first case on Jan. 20 last year.
