People walk past the COVID-19 testing center located inside Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in this file photo taken March 29, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 caseload stayed above 10,000 for the second straight day Wednesday, as public gatherings rise amid warmer weather.
The country reported 13,926 cases, including nine cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,944,430, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Wednesday’s tally is a slight increase from 12,444 a day earlier but around 500 lower than the same day a week ago.
The country added 14 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 34,356. The number of critically ill patients came to 129, up from 128 a day earlier.
The weekly average number of infections rose 6.2 percent from the previous week, the KDCA said.
Health authorities have been closely monitoring the daily tally after the government lifted most COVID-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate on public transportation.
The mask mandate remains in place for medical facilities, pharmacies and other infection-prone places.
Additionally, the government plans to reduce the mandatory COVID-19 isolation period to five days from the current seven in May.
Meanwhile, South Korea added two more locally transmitted cases of the mpox virus Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to eight.
The two infected individuals, whom tested positive Monday and Tuesday, respectively, are South Korean nationals in Seoul and had no recent overseas travel history, said the KDCA in a regular briefing.
The agency did not give further details about the two individuals but said its epidemiological investigation is under way on their whereabouts over the past three weeks.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is traditionally confined to regions in Central and Western Africa, and can cause fever, chills, rashes and lesions, among other symptoms.
South Korea confirmed the first case of mpox on June 22 last year.
(Yonhap)
