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 The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) recorded
110 new coronavirus cases on Friday compared with 114 a day earlier,
taking the national tally to 7,979. The death toll rose by five to
72 as of late Friday.
In contrast, 177 patients were released from hospitals where they
had been isolated for treatment, the KCDC said.
This marks the first time that the daily number of recovered people
exceeded that of new infections since South Korea's first patient
was confirmed on Jan. 20.
The latest figures are in line with a downward trend in new cases
which has raised hopes that the outbreak may be easing in Asia's
fourth-largest economy.
The trend is expected to persist, with more self-quarantined
patients being discharged in the coming days, KCDC chief Jeong
Eun-kyeong said.
But officials urged vigilance after new clusters of infections
emerged at a call center in a crowded part of capital Seoul, and the
fisheries ministry based in the administrative city of Sejong.
"We've managed to turn the corner, but there are concerns about
overseas inflows, as well as possible infections at home around such
facilities as call centers, computer cafes and karaoke rooms," Prime
Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a meeting in Daegu.
Of the latest 110 cases, 61 were from the hard-hit southeastern city
of Daegu where a fringe Christian church at the center of the
epidemic is located, while 17 and 13 were in Sejong and Seoul,
respectively.
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At least 109 cases so far have been linked to the call center, operated by an
insurance company whose 800-strong workforce is being tested or in quarantine
for monitoring. But the rate of increase in new infections has been slowing over
the past couple of days.
Seoul city said it plans to carry out extensive checks on some 10,500 computer
cafes and karaoke bars as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in
crowded workplaces.
"We assess that we've put out a big fire, but cannot lower our guard yet", Mayor
Park Won-soon told a briefing.
Global alarm over the coronavirus intensified, with governments from Europe to
the United States unveiling new measures aimed at slowing the spread of a
disease that has infected almost 135,000 people worldwide.
South Korea said it will subject visitors from France, Germany, Britain, Spain
and the Netherlands to reinforced border checks starting Sunday, after imposing
similar rules for China, Italy and Iran suffering a major outbreak.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast.)
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