9 new Coronavirus cases in South Korea in 24 hrs, total count rises to 10,761

Pedestrians wearing face masks cross the road in Seoul (File Photo)


Nine new positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in South Korea, taking the country’s tally to 10,761, according to the health authorities on Wednesday.

The daily caseload hovered around 10 for the 11th straight day. Of the new cases, five were imported from overseas, lifting the combined number to 1,061,

Two more deaths were confirmed, raising the death toll to 246. The total fatality rate came in at 2.29 per cent.

Earlier this month, South Korea extended its social distancing campaign for another two weeks amid a slowing but still continuing coronavirus spread.

A total of 68 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 8,922. The total recovery rate was 82.9 per cent.

People have been advised to keep a social distance of at least 2 metres from each other since January 3, the country has tested more than 6,14,000 people, among whom 5,95,129 tested negative for the virus and 8,307 were being checked.

The country has recently relaxed some of its social distancing rules, but officials have still raised worries about possible transmissions by “quiet spreaders”.

South Korea had recorded hundreds of new cases every day between late February and early March, mostly in the south eastern city of Daegue an nearby areas.

Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 3 million people globally and led to over 2 lakh deaths.