(2nd LD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 100,000 amid virus slowdown

All News 21:46 September 06, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with tally as of 9 p.m. in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 on Tuesday, marking a moderate decline from a week ago, as the spread of the virus has been waning.

The country reported 99,837 new COVID-19 infections, including 273 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 23,706,477, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Tuesday's count marks a steady on-week fall from 115,615 a week earlier. The daily infection tallies have stayed in the five digits since last Thursday after hitting as high as 180,000 in mid-August.

The death toll from COVID-19 stood at 27,193, up 44 from the previous day. The number of critically ill patients dropped by 26 to 536.

Despite the virus slowdown, authorities have called for the public not to lower their guard, as transmission risks could rise with heavy travel expected during the four-day Chuseok fall harvest holiday starting Friday.

On a weekly basis, the daily average COVID-19 cases came to 85,540 for the last week of August, down from around 127,000 registered for the third week of the same month.

Data showed that almost one in every 10 COVID-19 cases was presumed to be a reinfection, a government official said in a regular press briefing, citing the latest figures compiled for the last week of August.

Health authorities said they are also drawing up measures against a possible double epidemic of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza spreading across the country at the same time, as this winter will be the first such season without social distancing rules since the COVID-19 outbreak.

As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the country reported 82,244 new cases, down 14,385 from the same time the previous day, according to health authorities and provincial governments.

Daily virus cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.