South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases stayed over 100 for the second straight day Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections continued to strain the country’s virus fight ahead of major holidays.
The country added 125 more COVID-19 cases, including 110 local infections, raising the total caseload to 23,341, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
South Korea had reported less than 100 new virus cases for three straight days from Sunday before the daily tally bounced back to over 100 Wednesday.
The country’s new daily infections had been in triple digits for more than a month since Aug. 14 due to cases tied to a church in Seoul and an anti-government rally before briefly falling below 100.
Of the additional locally transmitted cases, 92 came from the nation’s capital area, with 39 reported in Seoul and 43 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. Incheon, located west of Seoul, added 10 more patients.
Other municipalities outside the greater Seoul area also reported additional infections. The southern port city of Busan added seven more cases, while northeastern Gangwon Province confirmed two more cases.
Health authorities are trying to curb the nationwide spread of COVID-19 ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
Millions of South Koreans travel across the nation to meet their families and relatives during Chuseok, the autumn harvest celebration.
The country will also have a three-day break from Oct. 9 to 11, when Hanguel Day, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, is combined with the weekend.
The number of newly identified imported cases came to 15, with six cases from Uzbekistan and three cases from Turkey. The country’s total number of imported cases is now at 3,129.
There were five additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 393. The fatality rate was 1.68 percent.
The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients came to 126 as of midnight, down 13 from a day earlier.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries stood at 20,832, up 182 from the previous day, with 2,116 people isolated for COVID-19 treatment, down 62 from a day ago.
The country has carried out 2,268,999 coronavirus tests since Jan. 3.
SOURCE: The Korea Herald
