New virus cases tad down; imported, cluster infections still alarming

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea saw its daily new virus cases slightly fall Monday, but a steady rise in both locally transmitted infections and imported cases continued to put a strain on the country's virus fight.

The country added 48 cases, including 24 local infections, raising the total caseload to 13,137, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The tally marked a slight decrease from 61 new cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday, as well as 63 new cases on both Friday and Saturday.

Of local infections, seven cases were reported in the southwestern city of Gwangju, followed by six each in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul and the western port city of Incheon. Three cases were reported in Seoul, the KCDC said.

As of Sunday, 80 cases have been tied to Gwangneuk Temple in Gwangju, up 13 from a day earlier. The figure includes cases from a church, also in the city, as the two clusters were found to have connections.

South Korea has been harried by rises in sporadic cluster infections in the greater Seoul area since it relaxed strict social distancing on May 6 on the flattened virus curve.

The country, meanwhile, reported 24 additional imported cases, raising the total of such cases to 1,690.

South Korea has posted a double-digit number of imported cases for 11 consecutive days.

South Korea, meanwhile, reported one more death, bringing the death toll to 284. The fatality rate was 2.16 percent.

The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 11,848, up 16 from the previous day.

The country has carried out 1,331,796 tests since Jan. 3.

khj@yna.co.kr
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