S. Korea reports 1,597 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday

COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna are unloaded Incheon International Airport on Sunday. (Yonhap News)

South Korea reported 1,597 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 1563 of the cases were transmitted domestically, while the remaining 34 were imported from overseas. The country’s cumulative total is now 263,374.

The greater Seoul area accounted for 1,038 of the domestic cases: 477 in Seoul, 474 in Gyeonggi Province and 87 in Incheon. The remaining 525 occurred throughout other parts of the country.

The number of patients in severe or critical condition increased by six to 364. The cumulative death toll increased by three to 2,330.

The KDCA also reported that 741,052 people received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday, increasing the total number of first dose receivers to 30,747,214. The number of fully vaccinated people — whether by receiving two doses or a single dose vaccine — increased by 632,986 to 18,385,936.

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter

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