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Korean citizens and migrant workers stand in line for COVID-19 testing in front of Suwon Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap News)

The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in November 2020, is picking up its pace again as virus numbers increase, according to health authorities.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters reported 459 new cases of COVID-19 infection Sunday. The daily caseload has remained in the 400-500 range for six consecutive days. The number was down only slightly from 474 the day before, even though the number of COVID-19 tests performed decreased from a weekday average of 60,000 to 44,621 over the weekend. Among the confirmed cases, 436 were domestic transmissions.

The daily average number of new cases this past week was 433.6, passing the threshold for Level 2.5 social distancing. The basic reproduction number also increased to 1.07 from 0.94 two weeks ago. This means that a single COVID-19 patient transmits the disease to more than one person.

Sohn Young-rae, a senior official at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, told reporters Sunday that the third wave of the pandemic is gaining momentum again.

“The daily caseload, the basic reproduction number and infection patterns are all going in a bad direction,” Sohn said. “People need to stay alert.”

The cumulative number of confirmed cases from a sauna in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, stands at 149 as 17 more cases were confirmed Sunday, following the first case reported on March 9. The number may increase further as health authorities are still conducting tests on 600 people who used the facility. The city of Jinju raised its social distancing level Saturday from one to two.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

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