S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 400,000 amid eased social distancing

▲ A medical worker calls the name of a visitor waiting to take a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 at a clinic in Seoul on March 18, 2022. South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit above 400,000, led by the wave of the highly transmissible omicron variant, amid the government's steps to shift away from rigorous social distancing. (Yonhap)

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 400,000 amid eased social distancing

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 400,000 on Saturday, but concerns linger over the highly transmissible omicron variant amid the government's move to shift away from rigorous social distancing.

The country reported 381,454 new COVID-19 infections, including 63 from overseas, raising the total caseload to 9,038,938, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The latest tally is a sharp drop from the all-time high of 621,328 on Thursday, though the sudden spike in cases reflected some 70,000 cases omitted from the previous day's tally.

The death toll from COVID-19 came to 12,101, up 319 from Friday. The fatality rate was 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients stood at 1,049, the same as the previous day.

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