coronavirus-additional cases

Daily coronavirus cases drop to 200,000s; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs

SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dropped to the 200,000s for the first time in 10 days Monday due to less testing over the weekend, but concerns remain high that infections could spike again, as the government eased social distancing rules this week.

The country reported 209,169 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 9,582,815, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Monday's tally marked a sharp decline from a record high of 621,281 reported Thursday. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend.

The death toll from COVID-19 came to 12,757, up 329 from Sunday, the KDCA said.

The number of critically ill patients stood at 1,030, up 97 from the previous day.

Despite recent letups, concerns lingered that daily infections could spike again, as the government eased social distancing rules this week as part of efforts to help small merchants and business owners taking the brunt of the pandemic due to less foot traffic and consumption.

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