S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 amid waning omicron wave

▲ People pass a COVID-19 testing station for arrivals at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on June 8, 2022. (Yonhap)

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 amid waning omicron wave

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 10,000 Friday, continuing a gradual decline, as the country is working to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

The country added 9,315 COVID-19 infections, including 34 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,209,650, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

South Korea has seen a gradual decline in total infections in recent weeks after the omicron-driven worst virus wave that pushed up the daily count to over 620,000 in mid-March.

The country added 18 COVID-19 deaths Friday, bringing the death toll to 24,341. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 107, compared with 106 the previous day.

As of Thursday, 44.6 million people, or 86.9 percent of the population, had completed the full two-dose vaccinations, and 33.33 million, representing 64.9 percent, had received their first booster shots.

More than 4.23 million people, or 8.2 percent of the population, had gotten their second booster shots, the KDCA said.

On Thursday, KDCA chief Peck Kyong-ran called for social consensus on whether to lift the mandatory seven-day self-isolation period for COVID-19 patients, noting the quarantine-free scheme for those infected is bound to spark the spread of the virus to damage public health and raise financial and other social burdens.

The KDCA is expected to make a decision on the possible lifting of the mandatory seven-day self-isolation period for COVID-19 patients next week.

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