(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 90,000 for 2nd day

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SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 90,000 for the second straight day Friday, hitting the lowest for a Friday count in five weeks, as the virus wave is slowing down.

The country reported 89,586 new COVID-19 infections, including 317 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 23,417,425, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The figure is up by about 8,000 from the previous day but marks an on-week decline considering that all numbers for Fridays were in the six digits from Aug. 5 until last week.

The virus resurgence from an omicron variant began in South Korea in early July, with the daily caseload spiking to as high as 180,000 in mid-August from as low as 3,000 in June. Authorities believe the virus wave is now on track for a gradual slowdown.

Despite the slowdown, health officials called for people not to lower their guard as the pace of transmissions could pick up again around and after the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, which falls on Sept. 9-12.

"Although the overall antivirus system status remains stable, there is a high possibility that the virus continues to spread as in-person contact and travel volume will increase during Chuseok, which is about a week away," Kim Sung-ho, a senior interior ministry official in charge of disaster management, said in a regular briefing.

Kim said the government will work to make sure the medical system, including providing COVID-19 testing stations at the right places, runs properly during the Chuseok holiday so as to prevent a vacuum in medical responses.

On Friday, the country added 64 deaths from COVID-19, putting the death toll at 26,940.

The number of critically ill patients came to 508, down 47 from Thursday's tally.

As of 9 p.m. Friday, the country had reported 75,566 additional infections, down 10,130 from the same time the previous day and down 15,472 from the previous week, according to health authorities and provincial governments. Daily virus cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.

elly@yna.co.kr
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