The government reported 107 new cases of the new coronavirus here Saturday, slightly down from 110 new cases a day earlier, bringing the nation’s total infections to 8,086.
The 107 detected Friday underscore growing signs that infections are waning on the back of stepped-up efforts to contain the outbreak.
With five new fatalities reported Saturday, 72 people have died so far in South Korea from COVID-19 since the first coronavirus infection case here was confirmed Jan. 20, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The pace of daily new infections has shown signs of slowing in recent days after health authorities completed extensive testing of 210,000 followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus who were at the center of the rapid spread, but authorities are still on high alert over new infection clusters, after one at a call center in Seoul’s Guro District and another at the Government Complex in Sejong.
Of the new cases, 62 were in Daegu and six in the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, the KCDC said.
The total number of confirmed cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, the two epicenters of the virus outbreak here, stood at 5,990 and 1,153, respectively.
Infections in Seoul rose 13 to 238, while the surrounding Gyeonggi Province reported 15 new cases for a total of 200.
Since raising its virus alert level to “red,” the highest level, Feb. 23, the health authorities have focused on halting the spread of the virus in Daegu and North Gyeongsang.
The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic as the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica.
South Korea has released 714 fully recovered novel coronavirus patients from hospitals as of Friday, up 204 from a day earlier, the KCDC said.
The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 17,634 as of Friday, down 306 from the day before, it said. The country has tested a total of 261,335 suspected cases.
Currently, there is no evidence that the new coronavirus is airborne ― the WHO has said the virus is transmitted through droplets or close contact. (Yonhap)
