DAILY COVID-19 CASES SUBSIDE

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported fewer than 20,000 new cases for the fourth straight day. Yesterday’s number was the lowest for a Sunday in 18 weeks since the omicron variant started to surge. It's also almost half the level compared to two weeks ago. Also, the number of critical cases in hospitals reached a record low since July 2021.

[Pkg]

As of midnight Sunday, Korea reported 12,654 new COVID-19 cases. There were 12,628 local cases and 26 imported ones. This is the lowest number for a Sunday in 18 weeks since the omicron surge began. Compared to May 15, the number dropped by almost half to roughly 12,700. By region, Gyeonggi-do Province reported 2,839 cases, Seoul 2,018, and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province 1,008. So far, more than 18 million cases have been reported since the pandemic first broke out. The number of hospitalized critical cases fell by eight to 188. It's the lowest since July 19, 2021 when 185 such cases were reported. The hospital bed occupancy rates were relatively low at 12.5% and 16.3% for critical and semi-critical cases, respectively. Also, 120,825 people are recovering at home. There were 19 more deaths yesterday, bringing the death toll to 24,158 at a fatality rate of 0.13%. By age group, 10 cases were 80 or older, six were in their 70s and 3 were in their 40s. Meanwhile, 86.9% of the population completed basic vaccination, while 64.9% havereceived a booster shot. Also, 28.5% of those aged 60 or older have been administered with fourth doses.