SEOUL, July 2 — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 10,000 Saturday as the daily cases seemed poised to take an upturn again after months of decline.
The country added 10,715 COVID-19 infections, including 173 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,379,552, Yonhap news agency quoted the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) as saying.
The tally increased from 9,528 the previous day and 6,786 a week ago.
The country added seven COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,562. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 per cent.
South Korea’s COVID-19 outbreaks have shown a downward trend after daily new cases peaked at an all-time high of over 620,000 in mid-March.
But the KDCA has said the pace of decline has recently slowed down amid waning immunity and eased social distancing rules.
Authorities said the nation’s mobility increased during the summer vacation season, accelerating the spread of COVID-19 subvariants.
Overseas infections remained high in Incheon — where Incheon International Airport is located — at 53.
The jump came in line with the increasing international flights to the country.
In June, Seoul lifted the seven-day self-isolating requirement for all international entries, regardless of travellers’ nationalities and history of vaccination.
