SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) — Additional cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) rose to just over 35,000 on Tuesday, the lowest Tuesday figure in more than three months, reflecting the downward trend amid efforts to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
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The country reported 35,117 new infections, including 26 imported cases, bringing the total number of cases to 17,830,429, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
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The latest figure marks a strong jump from the previous day’s 13,296, but the daily number tends to fall over the weekend and on Monday, mainly due to fewer tests being carried out, before rebounding on Tuesday. For a Tuesday, the figure is the lowest since the 18,333 cases reported on February 1.
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The drop shows the slowing trend of the virus in South Korea, a country that saw rapid spread of the Omicron variant earlier this year. Daily cases jumped to more than 620,000 by mid-March.
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The KDCA reported 27 deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 23,771, the KDCA said. The mortality rate was 0.13%. The number of critically ill patients stood at 333, down from 345 the previous day.
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The government plans to decide later this week whether or not to further ease virus restrictions, as the four-week transition period to prepare for changes to medical and other relevant procedures under the post-pandemic program draws to a close. will end this Friday.
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The possibility of the country scrapping the seven-day self-isolation period for confirmed patients is drawing attention as such a move would lead to an overhaul of the virus response system in the protracted fight against the pandemic.
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So far, 44.56 million people, or 86.8% of the population, have been fully immunized, and 33.23 million, or 64.8%, have received the first booster dose. A total of 3.52 million people received the second booster dose across the country, the KDCA said.
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