(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases stay in 50,000s before lifting of outdoor mask mandate

▲ Sindorim Station in Seoul is crowded by daily commutors wearing masks on April 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ An official of Dongjak-gu Office in Seoul puts up a sign on April 29, 2022, stating that the district office's temporary COVID-19 testing booth will close down on May 1. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) coronavirus-additional cases

(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases stay in 50,000s before lifting of outdoor mask mandate

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SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained in the 50,000s for the second straight day on Friday ahead of next week's lifting of the outdoor mask mandate.

The country reported 50,568 new COVID-19 infections, including 30 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,194,616, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The public health agency reported 136 more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 22,724.

The number of critically ill patients stood at 526, down 26 from the previous day.

South Korea's COVID-19 cases have been decreasing after peaking in mid-March at over 600,000. The daily tally dropped to the 30,000s on Monday for the first time in 76 days.

South Korea will lift the outdoor mask mandate on Monday, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, though he said people will still need to wear a mask when they attend gatherings of 50 or more people or use multiuse facilities.

The announcement came after the country last week scrapped most COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, including gathering limits and business hour curfews, as part of its effort to return to pre-pandemic normalcy amid a downward trend in COVID-19 cases.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team, called the move a "premature decision" that "lacks clear scientific grounds," noting that Friday's virus tally and death toll exceeded 50,000 and 100, respectively.

Meanwhile, KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said the decision to lift the outdoor mask mandate was not politically motiviated, citing a downward trend of COVID-19 cases for the past six weeks and increased immunity levels against COVID-19.

As of midnight Thursday, 44.54 million people, or 86.8 percent of the population, had been fully vaccinated, while 33.1 million people, representing 64.5 percent, had received booster shots, according to the KDCA.

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