S. Korea's new Covid-19 cases bounce back to more than 200,000

Seoul, April 12 : South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to more than 200,000 on Tuesday after falling to the lowest level in seven weeks amid the government's efforts to return to normalcy.

The country reported 210,755 new Covid-19 infections, including 33 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,635,274, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The public health agency reported 171 new Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 19,850.

The number of critically-ill patients stood at 1,005, down 94 from Monday, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea's virus cases have been on the decrease after peaking in mid-March. On Monday, new cases fell to 90,928, marking the first drop to five digits since the February 22 count of 99,562.

Health authorities are expected to announce later this week a new "post-Omicron scheme" aimed at further lifting social distancing and allowing people to go mask-free outside.