▲ People wait to get tested for COVID-19 at a testing center in Seoul on Sept. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) coronavirus-additional cases

(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 50,000 for 4th straight day

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SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the fourth consecutive day Tuesday amid the country's efforts to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

The country reported 47,917 new COVID-19 infections, including 323 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,461,737, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The new daily figure is the lowest of all Tuesday tallies since cases dropped to 37,336 on July 12.

The daily caseload decreased from 19,407 the previous day and 57,286 a week ago.

The downturn came after the COVID-19 omicron variant resurged in early July and peaked above 180,000 cases on Aug. 17.

Health authorities expect the virus wave to be on a gradual slowdown.

New deaths from COVID-19 decreased by 15 to 24, putting the death toll at 27,891. The fatality rate was 0.11 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 497, down 11 from a day earlier.

Despite the downturn in the new cases, authorities warned against reinfection of recovered patients.

According to the KDCA's data, 10.18 percent of the total COVID-19 caseload were reinfected cases.

Of the total 47,917 new cases, Seoul reported 9,735 new cases, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital added 13,316 infections. Incheon, a port city 27 kilometers west of Seoul, identified 3,084 new cases.

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