South Korea reports over 300 new Covid-19 cases for second consecutive day

South Korea has been closely monitoring the aftermath of the eased social distancing scheme in place since last week

An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea | Photo: AP/PTI

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 400 for the second straight day Tuesday on fewer tests over the weekend, but authorities are vigilant over the rising reproduction rate amid eased social distancing measures and an increase in the number of patients infected with Covid-19 variants. The country reported 357 more virus cases, including 330 local infections, raising the total caseload to 87,681, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap reported. On Monday, South Korea reported 332 cases, the lowest in a week. It marked a sharp decrease from more than 600 daily virus cases reported last week, before falling below 500 over the weekend.

The country added 11 more deaths, raising the total to 1,573. The fatality rate came to 1.79 per cent. Despite a slowdown in virus cases, health authorities are still concerned over the rise in the reproduction rate of the virus estimated at 1.12, which indicates that a single Covid-19 patient transmits the disease to more than one person. It hovered below 1.0 in January. South Korea has been closely monitoring the aftermath of the eased social distancing scheme in place since last week. The Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the nation’s 52 million population, is currently under Level 2 distancing — the third highest in a five-tier system — and other areas at Level 1.5. They were each revised down by a notch.

Under the virus curbs, restaurants and bars in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province are allowed to remain open for an hour longer until 10 p.m. Authorities, however, are still worried that the Lunar New Year’s holiday, which ran from February 11 to 13, may have led to more transmissions via asymptomatic patients. “The number of daily Covid-19 cases is expected to climb later this week, considering the effect (of fewer tests on the weekend) weakens,” a health official said.South Korea plans to decide whether to maintain or lower current social distancing guidelines later this week, as the current scheme is set to end Sunday…

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