Korea's new Covid-19 cases fell to the lowest level in 40 days on Tuesday, but health officials remained on alert, saying the nation is at a critical juncture ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

The nation reported 61 new virus cases, including 51 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 23,106 as of midnight Monday. Tuesday's daily tally marked the lowest number since Aug. 13 when the comparable figure was 56, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Three more people died of Covid-19, pushing the death toll to 388. The fatality rate reached 1.68 percent. An additional 193 people were discharged from quarantine, increasing the total to 20,441. The country has tested 2,245,112 people since Jan. 3. Korea also reported 10 imported cases, according to the agency.

Millions of Koreans travel across the nation to meet their families and relatives during the Chuseok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving Day). This year, however, health officials have warned that such a massive migration may result in another wave of nationwide outbreaks, urging citizens to stay at home.

On Sunday, the government decided to extend nationwide virus curbs of Level Two for another week on concerns that the virus's spread may worsen again during the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo also reiterated the government's call to remain cautious during the five-day holiday.

"While the number of confirmed cases per day fell to double digits for the third consecutive day, it is still too early to say we are out of the woods, considering that the number of diagnostic tests generally decreases on weekends,” Park said. "Before the start of the Chuseok holiday, the government would like to ask for the continued cooperation of the people so that the Covid-19 outbreak can enter into a stable state."

Park stressed that this was because the proportion of the elderly aged 60 or over is still high, accounting for 40 percent of all confirmed cases, while workplace infections continue to occur. Infections with unidentified routes also account for nearly 30 percent of the total, he noted.

"The risk of infection in logistics facilities has also increased because delivery volumes of parcels are expected to increase by more than 30 percent than usual in the run-up to Chuseok," Park said. "Distribution centers should come up with a method to prevent contact among people in common spaces such as cafeteria, restroom, and smoking room."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters also plan to prepare a screening clinic operation to perform diagnostic tests without disruption, even if group infection occurs during the holiday season.

In the case of nursing homes, where visits are prohibited due to reinforced social distancing, the government is working out with various non-contact measures to communicate with their families.

With students in Seoul and its surrounding areas returning to school for rotational in-person learning from Monday, Park stressed that additional caution is needed to keep the students safe.

"With the start of the second semester, face-to-face classes have started," Park said. "However, we have already seen group infections occur in universities, and therefore ask students to refrain from going to clubs or engage in small group activities other than face-to-face classes for study."

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