SEOUL– South Korea’s new coronavirus cases stayed below 100,000 for the fourth straight day, according to the country’s health authorities Sunday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 72,144 new COVID-19 infections, including 241 from overseas, have been confirmed, with the total caseload having risen to 23,569,192.
The daily caseload jumped to 115,615 cases on Aug. 30 from 43,114 a day earlier, but it continued to decline in the past six days from Aug. 30 through Sunday.
The Sunday figure plunged by 13,089 cases compared to a week earlier.
The country suspended its mandatory pre-departure COVID-19 test for inbound travelers starting Saturday. A mandatory PCR test within the first 24 hours of entry into South Korea remains in place.
The KDCA reported 79 additional deaths from COVID-19, putting the death toll at 27,093. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 548, up 28 from the previous day.
Health authorities remain wary of a potential uptick in cases later this month as many Koreans are expected to travel to their hometowns during the four-day Chuseok holiday that starts on Friday.
Of the 71,903 locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 11,928 new cases, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital added 18,351 infections. Incheon, a port city 27 kilometers west of Seoul, identified 3,930 new cases.
Source: Yonhap News Agency