(Photo: Yonhap News)
South Korea has reported 524 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 10 more related fatalities.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday the overall caseload reached 70,728, including 1,195 deaths.
The country has suffered from a surge in sporadic cluster infections over the past two months, leading to a third wave of infections, with new virus cases breaching the 1,000 threshold multiple times.
Thursday marked the third consecutive day new cases have stayed in the 500s, indicating the COVID-19 curve may be flattening again on the back of stricter antivirus curbs and preemptive testing.
Tightened 2.5 social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area and Level 2 measures elsewhere are set to expire on Sunday, but health authorities will decide Saturday whether to maintain or lower them.
Government officials, meanwhile, continue to urge vigilance against the virus as they face growing pressure to lift restrictions sooner than later due to overall pandemic fatigue and the economic fallout, especially for small businesses.
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