▲ This photo taken on Jan. 17, 2022, shows people having lunch at a restaurant in Seoul on the first day of eased social distancing rules. The government raised the limit on the size of private gatherings to six from the previous four but extended a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes, which has been in place since mid-December, for another three weeks until Feb. 6. (Yonhap)

coronavirus-additional cases

Daily cases back above 4,000 amid omicron woes

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily coronavirus cases climbed back above 4,000 on Tuesday as health authorities remain vigilant over a possible upsurge in infections and the spread of the omicron variant ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The country added 4,072 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,763 local infections, raising the total caseload to 700,102, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients stood at 543 Tuesday. The country reported 45 more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 6,378. The fatality rate was 0.91 percent.

The number of imported cases was tallied at 309, bringing the total imported cases to 21,932.

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