S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases stay above 18,000 for 4th day in vacation season

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases stay above 18,000 for 4th day in vacation season

SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 18,000 for the fourth straight day Friday as the nation embarks on the summer vacation season amid eased social distancing curbs.

The country added 19,323 new COVID-19 infections, including 191 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,471,172, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Friday's tally is similar to the 19,371 on Wednesday and the 18,511 on Thursday, and about double the 9,522 a week ago.

The KDCA has said the pace of the virus' reproduction has recently gone up as more people are traveling for summer holidays.

The country added 12 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,605. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients increased by six to 62, the KDCA said.

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