S.Korea: New Covid cases bounce back to over 100 on clusters

Seoul, Sep 23 (IANS) South Korea's daily new Covid-19 cases rebounded to over 100 on Wednesday, snapping three consecutive days of a two-digit rise, as sporadic cluster infections, coupled with untraceable cases, continued to pop up across the country.The country added 110 more Covid-19 cases, including 99 local infections, raising the total caseload to 23,216, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).Wednesday's daily tally marks a sharp increase from 61 cases reported Tuesday, the lowest number since August 13, when the comparable figure was 56. The country had reported less than 100 new virus cases for the third consecutive day since Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.The country's new daily infections had been in triple digits for more than a month since August 14 due to cases tied to a church in Seoul and an anti-government rally before briefly falling below 100.Health authorities said the daily new cases are showing signs of a decline but warned that it is a matter of time before the daily figures jump above the 100 threshold again due to the rising number of patients with unknown infection routes.South Korea will also have a three-day break from October 9 to 11, when Hanguel Day, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, is combined with the weekend.Health authorities have been urging people to stay home over the holidays.The country's daily Covid-19 cases peaked in February by reaching 909. Since last month, the highest figure was 441 cases added August 27.
--IANS sdr/