A medical worker administers a COVID-19 test at a testing center in Daegu, about 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on May 11, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new coronavirus cases stayed above 20,000 for the third consecutive day Thursday as President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an end to almost all COVID-19 restrictions in the latest step to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
South Korea reported 20,574 cases, including 32 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,351,686, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Thursday’s tally fell from the previous day’s 23,521 infections, a three-month high, but was about 400 higher than the same day last week.
The country added 12 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, raising the death toll to 34,583.
The number of critically ill patients rose for the fifth consecutive day to 157, the KDCA said.
On Thursday, Yoon said the government will lower the national crisis level of COVID-19 from “serious” to “alert” in June and lift almost all antivirus measures.
The move comes in line with the World Health Organization’s recent announcement that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency.
Under the plan, the seven-day mandatory isolation period for COVID-19 patients will be reduced to a recommendation of five days.
The indoor mask mandate will be lifted everywhere except for hospitals with rooms for hospitalization, and the recommendation for inbound travelers to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test will also be lifted.
Nine temporary COVID-19 testing centers across the country, except for designated medical facilities for PCR testing, will stop their operations as well.
The government, however, decided to continue providing financial assistance for COVID-19 treatment, including free vaccinations and COVID-19 medicine.
The KDCA said it will also change its current daily basis announcement of new virus infections to a weekly basis.
(Yonhap)
