People enjoy a festival at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on April 23, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s new coronavirus cases fell below 10,000 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend as the country is well on track to pre-pandemic normalcy.
The country reported 5,027 cases, including 20 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,083,586, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Monday’s tally fell from 11,834 cases a day earlier but is higher than the 4,946 a week ago. The daily caseload had stayed above 10,000 for the past six days through Sunday.
The country added eight COVID-19 deaths Monday, raising the death toll to 34,427. The number of critically ill patients came to 146, up from 144 a day earlier, the KDCA said.
Last month, South Korea eased most of its virus curbs, including the indoor mask mandate on public transportation.
As a next step, the government plans to reduce the mandatory COVID-19 isolation period to five days from the current seven in May.
(Yonhap)
