New COVID cases fall below 100,000 as Omicron wave ebbs

People walk in the popular shopping district of Myeongdong in Seoul, April 20. Yonhap

Korea reported fewer than 100,000 COVID-19 cases for Wednesday with the curve of the Omicron variant continuing its downward curve that started in mid-March.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 90,867 new infections, including 31 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,674,045.

The new total is down 57,558 cases, or 38.7 percent, from a week ago and marks the lowest number for a Wednesday since Feb. 17.

The Omicron-driven infections have been on the steady decline after peaking at 621,178 cases March 17.

The overall death toll registered 21,667, up 147 from the previous day for a fatality rate of 0.13 percent; while the number of critically ill patients came to 846, up 38.

Of the locally transmitted infections, Gyeonggi Province reported 22,620, Seoul, 15,192, and Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, 4,667.

As of midnight Wednesday, 44.53 million, or 86.8 percent of the 52 million population, had been fully vaccinated, and 33 million, or 64.4 percent, had received booster shots, the KDCA said.

The country started this week to administer second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to people over 60, four months after their first booster dose. (Yonhap)

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