(2nd LD) New virus cases stay below 40 for 2nd day as imported cases dwindle

(ATTN: UPDATES with prime minister's remarks on the possible removal of lockdowns on public facilities in paras 8-16)

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new daily virus cases hovered below 40 for the second straight day on Sunday, but the number of local transmissions outpaced that of imported cases for the first time in over a week.

The country identified 34 new cases, raising the total caseload to 13,745. Of the newly reported cases, 21 were locally transmitted, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It marks the first time in eight days that the country reported more locally transmitted cases than imported cases.

Still, the tally marks a steady decline from 61 new infections reported Thursday and 60 on Friday, largely due to high numbers of imported cases.

As of Sunday, South Korea has seen double-digit figures of imported cases for 24 consecutive days.

The recent high numbers of imported cases have partly been attributed to a number of South Korean workers returning from Iraq and a series of cluster infections on Russian-flagged vessels docked in the country's southeastern port city of Busan.

Seoul plans to send a chartered flight to the Middle Eastern country this week to bring home more citizens.

With the number of daily local transmissions staying around 20 or below, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said health authorities may consider removing lockdowns on public facilities, including libraries.

"(The government) plans to resume operations of convenient facilities frequented by citizens, such as public libraries and art museums," Chung said at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

The country had launched a strict social distancing campaign, shutting down all such facilities, in March, after the nation reported its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 20.

It switched to a more lax "social distancing in everyday life" scheme in early May after the country began to see less than 20 new cases per day since April 18.

The public facilities were again shut down in June after the country reported a series of cluster infections linked to large distribution centers and night spots in Seoul's Itaewon.

Chung said the facilities, even if reopened, will be run under strict quarantine measures that will include mandatory face masks and a limited number of people allowed to enter at a given time.

On a different note, the prime minister instructed the government to consider holding a makeshift national holiday on Aug. 17.

It, he said, "will be designed to offer some rest to the people and medical workers who are exhausted physically and emotionally and to support the recovery in domestic consumption."

Of the 21 local transmissions reported Sunday, 10 were identified in Seoul, with 10 cases reported in Gwangju, located some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. One case was confirmed in Daejeon, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul.

The 10 new cases in Seoul put the capital's overall caseload at 1,474.

Nine of the 10 new cases confirmed in Gwangju came from those who had come in close contact with an infected person from Seoul.

As of Sunday at noon, 13 additional cases were confirmed to have been traced to an office in southern Seoul, raising the number of related cases to 32.

According to the KCDC, 11 related cases were reported in Gwangju, with two more virus patients identified in Seoul.

The country's death toll came to 295, with one more virus-caused death reported, according to the KCDC.

As of Sunday, 12,556 of the infected have been released after a full recovery, up 37 from a day before.

The number of the infected still in quarantine or under treatment came to 894, down from 898 on Saturday.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)