S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000, concerns rise over further uptick

▲ People wait in line to receive tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Feb. 17, 2022, when the country reported 93,135 new cases. (Yonhap)

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S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000, concerns rise over further uptick

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 on Friday for the first time since the pandemic began about two years ago as the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads rapidly.

The cases could continue to rise going forward as the government is set to partially relax social distancing rules, apparently to help small merchants taking the brunt of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country reported 109,831 new COVID-19 infections, including 109,715 local cases, raising the total caseload to 1,755,806, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The death toll from COVID-19 came to 7,283, up 45 from Thursday. The fatality rate was 0.41 percent, the KDCA said.

The number of daily infections has spiked in recent weeks due to the fast spread of the omicron variant. Daily infections have nearly doubled in just a week after surpassing 50,000 for the first time on Feb. 10.

Despite the spike in cases, the government decided earlier in the day to extend the operating hours of cafes and restaurants by one hour to 10 p.m. starting this weekend, raising concerns over a further surge in infections.

The move came amid a strong backlash from small merchants and self-employed people who have been complaining that tightened antivirus measures are dragging down sales.

The partially relaxed antivirus curbs will be in place from Saturday to March 13, with the cap on private gatherings remaining the same at six people.

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