SEOUL, Oct. 27 (BNA): South Korea’s novel coronavirus cases rose to nearly 2,000 on Wednesday, with fresh concerns emerging about people letting their guard down before the start of a gradual easing of virus restrictions aimed at returning to normal life.
The country added 1,952 more cases of COVID-19, including 1,930 local infections, bringing the total number of cases to 356,305, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the latest number represented a significant jump from the number reported the previous day of 1,266 and 1,190 on Monday, although the number of daily cases remained below 2,000 for the 19th consecutive day.
The daily infection tally has remained in four figures since July 7, including the record high of 3,272 cases on September 25.
The country added nine more deaths, bringing the death toll to 2,797. The death rate was 0.79%.
Wednesday’s surge in daily cases came amid growing concerns that people may lower their guard too soon with the planned shift to the “Living with COVID-19” scheme on November 1.
Under the scheme, virus restrictions will be lifted in phases until the end of January next year, starting with allowing cafes, restaurants and other mixed-use facilities to operate 24 hours a day and private gatherings of up to 10 people, regardless of vaccination.
But basic preventive measures will remain in effect, such as wearing masks indoors.
The government will also introduce a “vaccine corridor” system next month, which requires a certificate of vaccination or a negative test result to enter mixed-use, high-risk facilities.
Health authorities are expected to keep a close tab on the curve of the virus over the coming days.
Among the locally transferred cases reported on Wednesday, 729 were in Seoul, with surrounding Gyeonggi Province reporting 740 cases and Incheon, west of Seoul, 125.
And 22 cases came from abroad, making a cumulative total of 15,025.
The total number of people released from quarantine after a full recovery reached 329,658, the agency said, an increase of 2,066 from the previous day.
About 40.89 million people, or 79.6 percent of the country’s population of 52 million, had received their first COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday. The number of fully vaccinated people was 36.71 million, or 71.5 percent.
MI