(Photo: Yonhap News)
South Korea has reported 354 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 more virus-related fatalities.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday confirmed 338 locally transmitted infections and 16 imported cases from the last 24 hours.
The figures raised the overall caseload to 75,875, with 1,371 deaths.
Despite tighter virus curbs and signs of a slowing third wave, health authorities remain on alert over another rise in cluster infections and the potential spread of new virus variants.
More than 170 confirmed cases have been reported from the IEM religious educational facility in Daejeon as of Tuesday, while some three dozen patients have been linked to another religious facility in Gwangju.
Meanwhile, a total 27 cases of COVID-19 variants from Britain, South Africa and Brazil have been detected so far.
Officials from the health ministry and KDCA are reviewing whether to make changes to the social distancing scheme and extend a ban on private gatherings of five or more people in preparation for the major Lunar New Year holiday.
The government has already set a special two-week quarantine period that will start on February 1 due to concerns that new infections could spike again after the holiday.
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