New virus cases rebound to over 100 on cluster infections in greater Seoul

SEOUL. KAZINFORM South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 100 on Monday again despite the lower number of tests carried out over the weekend, as sporadic cluster infections, noticeably at nursing facilities and gatherings, continued to emerge.

The country added 119 more COVID-19 cases, including 94 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,955, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap reports.

It marked a sharp rise from 61 cases reported Sunday and 77 from Saturday.

The KDCA attributed the latest uptick to the rising number of cluster infections at medical facilities, such as nursing homes, and family and small gatherings in the greater Seoul area.

The authorities have also said the surge in new daily virus cases is especially worrisome considering the fact that fewer tests are usually carried out over the weekend compared with weekdays.

Given the ups and downs in daily new virus cases, health authorities have been saying that the country's COVID-19 pandemic is at a manageable level since it eased the social distancing scheme to the lowest level on Oct. 12, which allowed South Koreans to resume most of their daily activities while following basic guidelines.