Daily COVID-19 cases fell below 100-thousand to around 80-thousand amid signs of a slowdown in the latest pandemic wave, but the number of deaths rose to the highest in four months.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Thursday that 81-thousand-573 infections were confirmed throughout the previous day, including 300 from overseas, bringing the country’s cumulative caseload to about 23 million-328-thousand.
The daily tally dropped by some 22-thousand from a day ago and declined by around 32-thousand and 97-thousand from a week ago and two weeks earlier, respectively.
The number of critically ill hospitalized patients fell by 14 from the previous day to 555, remaining above 500 for the ninth consecutive day.
One-hundred-12 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, soaring 37 from a day earlier to hit the largest since April 29. The overall death toll came to 26-thousand-876 with the fatality rate remaining at zero-point-12 percent.
The occupancy rate of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients nationwide came to 39-point-one percent, down by zero-point-five percentage points from a day ago.
Source: KBS World Radio