South Korea reported a three-week high 490 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, with infections creeping higher as the authorities prepare for a broad vaccine rollout.
The daily tally as of Friday midnight was up slightly from 488 the day before to the highest since Feb. 19, said the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of Friday's total, 474 were locally transmitted infections and 16 imported.
This brings the country's total coronavirus infections to 95,176 with 1,667 COVID-19 deaths. Nearly 70% of the domestically transmitted cases have been from the capital, Seoul, and its neighboring areas, where about half the nation’s 52 million people live.