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| People cross a street at a Gwanghwamun intersection in Seoul, June 28. The previous day, South Korea added 9,896 new COVID-19 infections, including 119 from overseas. Yonhap |
South Korea reported an uptick in new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, despite the coronavirus pandemic loosening its grip.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 9,896 new infections, including 119 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,339,319.
While the pandemic curve is generally trending downward, Monday's tally is up 593 from a week ago and 125 from two weeks ago, a possible indication that the pace of decline is slowing.
South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases have steadily decreased to stay below 10,000 since June 10 after hitting more than 620,000 in mid-March.
The KDCA reported five more deaths from COVID-19, raising death toll to 24,530 for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 62, down six from a day ago.
Of the 9,777 locally transmitted cases, Seoul accounted for 2,467, with the surrounding Gyeonggi Province reporting 2,571, and Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, 451. The three areas accounted for 56 percent of total infections.
In April, the government removed most social distancing restrictions, except the indoor mask requirement, as new infections continued to fall.
Still, the government extended the self-isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients until July 17 over concerns that eased rules could prompt another virus resurgence.
The health authorities warned an uptick could occur for the time being due to waning vaccine effectiveness. (Yonhap)
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