Robust vaccination campaign keeps new infections largely in check

South Korea reported 1,440 new daily cases Friday in a downward trend in its coronavirus infections as its strong vaccination push seems to be helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus from spinning out of control.

The new tally, including 1,420 local infections, brought the total caseload to 348,969, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Friday’s number is down one from the 1,441 counted the previous day. It is also down 117 from a week ago.

The death toll came to 2,725, up 16 from a day earlier.

As of 6 p.m. Friday, health authorities and local governments had reported 1,223 more COVID-19 cases, up eight from the same time a day earlier, but down 83 from a week ago.

Daily cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.

Of the locally transmitted cases announced in the morning, Seoul reported 519 new cases, with the surrounding Gyeonggi Province adding 518 and Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, 121 cases.

The number of patients released from quarantine after making full recoveries stood at 320,317, up by 2,562 from the previous day, the KDCA said.

A doctor administers a coronavirus vaccine at a health center in Seoul on Oct. 21, 2021. (Yonhap)

The seven-day average tally during the Oct. 16-22 period dropped 15.9 percent from the previous week to 1,354.3, according to KDCA data released Friday.

The number in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the country’s 52 million population, was 1,057.7, down 15 percent, while the rest of the country also saw its cases drop by 18.8 percent from the previous week.

During a regular online briefing, Lee Ki-il, a senior health official, said the country’s fourth wave of the pandemic began to ebb.

“We expect 70 percent of the population to get fully vaccinated by this weekend, and infections are on the decline,” he said, adding that the country is “taking a step toward a gradual return to normalcy.”

As of Friday, 68.2 percent of the population were fully vaccinated, while 79.2 percent have received their first shots.

With accelerating inoculations, the government said it will introduce the “living with COVID-19″ scheme within this month.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday the government will plan its exit strategies from the pandemic in a gradual manner, adding that restrictions will be first removed for small businesses hit hard by strict social distancing rules.

“The return to normal will proceed in stages and systematically,” Kim said during a meeting of a government-civilian panel overseeing the transition to life after COVID-19.

“We will take drastic and active steps to ease the virus restrictions starting with businesses and neglected groups that have suffered greatly (during the pandemic), and facilities with a low risk of spreading infections,” he said.

In the early stages of the transition, the eased restrictions must apply only to the fully vaccinated, he said, and the government’s coronavirus response will focus more on the prevention of severe hospitalizations and deaths, rather than on infections.