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| ▲ A makeshift COVID-19 testing facility is being built on July 21, 2022, amid the spread of an omicron subvariant. (Yonhap) |
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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 70,000, remain high on subvariant
SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 70,000 Friday but are nearly 10 times higher than a month ago amid the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant.
The country reported 68,632 new COVID-19 infections, including 323 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 19,077,659, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Friday's tally is 9.5 times higher than 7,218 cases on June 24.
The daily caseload more than doubled to 73,582 on Tuesday from 26,299 a day earlier and rose to 76,402 Wednesday and 71,170 Thursday.
The omicron subvariant BA.5 has spread fast since end-June with the start of the summer holiday season. The daily count hit over 10,000 on June 29 for the first time in about three weeks before jumping to over 20,000 on July 9 and then above 40,000 on July 13.
The KDCA reported 31 deaths from the virus Friday, putting the death toll at 24,825. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients was 130, jumping from 107 a day earlier.
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