coronavirus-additional cases
New cases below 400,000 for second day; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs
SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported less than 400,000 new cases for the second day in a row Friday as the omicron variant tightens its grip on the country.
The country had reported 339,514 new infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 11,162,232, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Friday's daily tally was down from 395,598 on Thursday and 490,881 on Wednesday, which was the second-highest daily caseload.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 14,294, up 393 from Thursday, the KDCA said. The fatality rate came to 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients stood at 1,085, up four from the previous day.
The daily tally has remained over 1,000 for 18 days straight.
South Korea is experiencing the worst wave of the pandemic, surpassing the grim milestone of 10 million infections earlier this week. Nearly 9 million cases have been reported since early February. The daily caseload surged to an all-time high of 621,205 last Thursday.
The spread of the virus is feared to continue unabated amid relaxed social distancing rules and quarantine rules for overseas entrants. Earlier this week, the government eased some of its virus-related regulations to support retail and service sectors bearing the brunt of the pandemic's financial impact.
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