South Koreans aged 18 and below accounted for about 9 percent of the total new coronavirus cases reported here, with youngsters being less susceptible to COVID-19 compared to adults, the health authority said Tuesday.

Minors accounted for 8.9 percent of the 75,084 virus patients confirmed here through Sunday, according to the data compiled by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case back on Jan. 20, 2020.

No fatalities have been reported among the age group so far.

Young COVID-19 virus patients were mostly asymptomatic or showed mild symptoms, it said.

The number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people came to only 65 for those aged six and below, and 103 for those aged from 16 to 18. The figures hover far below the 145 cases estimated for the entire population.

By transmission routes, some 36 percent of patients aged 6 and below were infected through family members, while some 10 percent of those aged between 16 and 18 caught the virus from schools or private institutes.

South Korea, meanwhile, has been vigilant over the possible spread of the virus among students starting in March, when the country begins a new semester.

While the new semester will begin as scheduled, the number of students allowed to be at schools will be adjusted depending on the level of the country's social distancing scheme.

On Sunday, the government decided to extend the second-toughest social distancing measures for another two weeks.

Since Dec. 8, the country has imposed Level 2.5, the second highest in its five-tier scheme, in the greater Seoul area and Level 2 in other regions. Bans on gatherings of five or more people have been in place almost across the entire country. (Yonhap)