Korea’s new Covid-19 cases climbed above 100 for the first time in five days on Monday, as new infections continued to occur amid the government’s decision to downgrade the nation’s social distancing scheme.
The caseload is only a slight increase from 98 a day earlier. Still, the nation is continuing to see significant outbreaks due to cluster infections coupled with a recent rise in foreign cases.
It recorded 102 new virus cases, including 69 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 24,805 as of midnight Monday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Imported cases reached 33 on Tuesday, marking the highest number since 34 reported on July 29. Of the new arrivals, 14 patients came from Russia, five from Japan, four from the U.S. and Nepal, and one from the Philippines, Canada, Brazil, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh.
The death toll inched up to 434, as one more patient died of the new coronavirus, while medical institutions discharged an additional 135 recovered people, increasing the total of cured patients to 22,863. The country has tested 2,428,771 people since Jan. 3.
Despite the new infections staying around 100, the government eased most of its strict restrictions to Level One on Monday, as it saw no massive outbreaks during the Chuseok holiday and the Korean Alphabet Day in the first 10 days of October.
Under the eased social distancing scheme, high-risk facilities such as clubs, karaoke rooms, cram schools and buffets, including those in the greater Seoul area, restarted business.
However, these places' operators remain obliged to follow infection preventive measures, including wearing masks for visitors and keeping entry logs.
Starting on Tuesday, The government also made it mandatory for citizens to wear face masks on public transportation, medical facilities, and rallies. Violators will have to pay fines of up to 100,000 won ($87) from Nov. 13 after a month of a grace period.
Under the current Level One social distancing scheme, there are no limits to the number of participants in gatherings. However, considering religious facilities have been responsible for major cluster infections since the Covid-19 outbreak, churches can fill up only 30 percent of their seats. Sports events are also obligated to keep the ceiling of 30 percent at stadiums.
Korea operates a three-tier social distancing system. Under the second level, indoor gatherings of more than 50 people are banned. The government has not yet issued the highest alert, which bans gatherings of 10 or more people.
and seventh graders will be able to attend school every day, and at some smaller schools, all students will have in-person classes five days a week.
“More than 30 million people traveled during the Chuseok special quarantine period, but fortunately, a large-scale Covid-19 infection has not yet appeared,” Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Kang Do-tae said. “The average number of community spreads remained around 60 for two weeks.”
Kang noted that new Covid-19 infections seemed to have relatively calmed down thanks to the public's observance of quarantine regulations during the holiday period. However, he stressed the need to keep a close watch on any additional cases because infections resulting from family meetings have been increasingly reported.