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| A health official wearing protective gear disinfects property in Seoul, Thursday, as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19. AP |
South Korea saw new COVID-19 infections for Friday stay in triple digits for the fourth straight day as infection clusters continued to pile up nationwide amid eased social distancing measures.
The country added 127 more cases, including 96 domestic ones, raising the total caseload to 26,511, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Saturday.
This marked a rise from the 103 new cases reported for Tuesday, 125 for Wednesday and 114, Thursday.
The latest upticks were mostly traced to nursing homes for the elderly, hospitals and other facilities, but sporadic group infections continued to rise from small gatherings, including family meetings, not only in the greater Seoul area but across the country.
Since the government eased its social distancing measures by one notch to the lowest level of a three-tier system Oct. 12, daily figures have been hovering around 100.
The health authorities warned that cases may increase further on a potential resurgence in infections as people travel to enjoy autumn vacations.
Halloween, which fell Saturday, was also a major concern for the KDCA as people gathered at entertainment facilities, potential hotbeds for infection clusters.
The country reported more than 270 COVID-19 cases tied to clubs in the nightlife district of Itaewon in western Seoul in early May.
Of the newly identified local infections, 51 were reported in Seoul, 23 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and three in Incheon, west of Seoul. The greater capital area is home to around half of the nation's 51.6 million population.
Other municipalities reporting new infections included the southeastern city of Daegu with nine, and the southern port city of Busan with two.
Meanwhile, the KDCA said the 31 imported cases ― up from 21 the previous day ― were comprised of six from the United States, two from Europe and 23 from Asia excluding China.
The agency reported one additional death, raising the death toll to 464 with a fatality rate of 1.75 percent.
There were 54 seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients as of midnight, up from 51 the previous day, while the total number of people released from quarantine after making a recovery stood at 24,311, an increase of 84.
South Korea has carried out 2,624,492 coronavirus tests since Jan. 3, including 12,261 tests Thursday. (Yonhap)
