A screen carries a message instructing visitors to wear mask indoors at a building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases stayed above 70,000 for the second consecutive day Wednesday amid lingering concerns of a winter surge in cases.
The country reported 74,714 new COVID-19 infections, including 60 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 27,483,568, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Wednesday’s tally is slightly lower than the previous day but up by more than 7,000 cases compared with the previous week. It is also the highest same day tally in the past 12 weeks.
The country added 54 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 30,847.
The number of critically ill patients stood at 441, down two from the previous day’s tally.
Health authorities have remained cautious on recent virus trends and said caseloads are likely to increase in the winter season due to more indoor activities.
At a regular briefing, the KDCA said it could adjust the indoor mask mandate between January to March.
The public health agency said the indoor mask mandate will likely remain in place at high-risk facilities even after the adjustments are made.
The move came after the central city of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province announced plans to lift the indoor mask mandate.
The indoor mask mandate is the last remaining COVID-19 restriction South Korea has kept in place after scrapping other social distancing rules.
Health experts have called for prudence in lifting the indoor mask-wearing rules.
Jung Ki-suck, chair of a private-government advisory panel, previously said such changes could lead to another surge in cases, eventually pushing up the number of critically ill patients as well as COVID-19 deaths.
(Yonhap)
