S. Korea Reports Third Day Of Over 300 New Virus Cases As Students Return To School

Reporter Rosyn Park ㅣ 2021-03-02 14:04

Young students and their parents sit spaced out, in line with social distancing measures, during a welcoming ceremony to kick off the new semester at an elementary school in Daejeon on March 2, 2021. (Photo: Yonhap News)

South Korea reported 344 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and one more fatality.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said 319 local infections and 25 imported cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, pushing the total caseload to 90,372, with 1,606 deaths.

Daily cases have remained in the 300s for three days in a row, apparently due to less testing over the long weekend.

Amid lingering concerns over potential upticks and cluster infections, health authorities continue to be on high alert as schools nationwide welcome back students for the new semester.

Authorities are also closely monitoring the spread of more contagious COVID-19 variants, which reached 156 as of Monday.

According to the KDCA, the total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries from the coronavirus disease stood at 81,338, up 268 from the previous day.