SEOUL, Jan. 10 – Additional cases of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) remained below 700 this Sunday for the third day in a row, while social distancing measures have a slight effect despite clusters of persistent infections.
The country added 665 new cases of Covid-19, including 631 local infections, bringing the total number of cases to 68,664, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The figure marks a slight increase from the 641 reported on Saturday, the lowest figure since December 8, when the country added 594 more infections. Daily transmissions reached 674 on Friday.
The daily figure remained below 1,000 for the sixth day in a row.
Health officials have extended level 2.5 social distancing measures, the second highest level in the five-level system, for the Seoul metropolitan area and level 2 measures for the rest of the country until the 17th. January.
Private meetings of more than four people are prohibited nationwide during the period cited.
Restaurants and entertainment venues, including bars, nightclubs and karaoke rooms, in the Seoul metropolitan area will be allowed to conditionally reopen below the current level of 2.5.
While daily cases have remained below the 1,000 mark, health authorities believe the third wave of infections has calmed down, thanks to strengthened social distancing measures and preemptive screening tests. However, they are keeping a watchful eye on clusters of infections and the new variant of the virus that was first reported in the UK.
Some cases across the nation were linked to a missionary church in Sangju, 270 km southeast of Seoul. Of the 2,837 people who have visited the church since the end of November, 154 have tested positive for the virus as of Saturday. And several confirmed patients have spread the virus to 351 people by attending church services and gatherings in other parts of the country.
Authorities predict that the number of confirmed cases in connection with this religious establishment will increase further as about 70% of visitors to the church have not yet undergone a screening test.
As of Friday, South Korea has reported a total of 16 cases of the virus mutant and has banned flights from Britain since December 23, and this measure has been extended until January 21.
By region, 179 cases were reported in Seoul and 189 infections in Gyeonggi province. Incheon reported 32 additional transmissions. These three regions represent about half of the country’s population.
The number of imported cases stood at 34, down from 45 the day before. They include six from Indonesia and four from the United States.
In the past 24 hours, 25 people have died from Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,125.
The total number of people discharged from hospital after a full recovery was 50,498, 1,085 more than a day earlier.
(Yonhap)
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