NextGen Day

SEOUL, South Korea – On Wednesday, the number of new Covid-19 infections in South Korea hit a new high of over 170,000, nearly doubling from a week earlier, as the extremely contagious omicron strain swept across the country.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 171,452 new Covid-19 infections, including 171,271 local cases, bringing the overall caseload to 2,329,182. (KDCA).

This is a significant increase over the previous day’s total of 99,573 and considerably surpasses the previous high of 104,814 set on Sunday.

The rapid spread of the omicron version, which became the dominant variation in South Korea late last month, is to blame for the spike. In just a week, the daily tally roughly doubled, and it nearly quadrupled when compared to two weeks before.

The total number of critically ill Covid-19 patients has increased to 512, up 32 from the previous day. The number of cases has been increasing recently, rising from roughly 200 early last week to over 400 on Saturday and over 500 on Wednesday.

The mortality toll from Covid-19 has risen to 7,607, an increase of 99 since Tuesday. The novel coronavirus is responsible for the fourth-highest number of daily deaths. According to the KDCA, the death rate was 0.33 percent.

The Omicron wave, according to health officials, might reach a peak by early next month, with daily caseloads reaching 270,000. Experts also predict that by that time, the number of serious cases will have risen to above 1,000.

On Wednesday, the number of patients undergoing at-home treatment reached an all-time high of 521,294 as a result of the increase in total infections. According to KDCA officials, the number has more than doubled in a week and could top 1 million next week.

Following the Omicron wave, the country implemented an improved at-home treatment system to focus more on critical cases and vulnerable persons.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, however, said there is “no need” to be concerned about the number of virus patients because the country’s medical response system is well-established and the omicron variant’s fatality rate remains low.

“We plan to alter our social distance and other measures once we decide that serious cases and deaths can be controlled stably,” Kim said at a Covid-19 reaction meeting on Wednesday.

The government lightened antiviral restrictions this week by extending business hour curfews for cafes and restaurants by one hour to 10 p.m., while maintaining the six-person limit for private meetings and other restrictions.

Booster injections had been given to 30.74 million people, or 59.9% of the country’s 52 million people, as of Wednesday. According to the KDCA, 44.32 million persons were fully vaccinated, accounting for 86.4 percent of the population.

To combat the current outbreak, the government has urged more people to get vaccinated, claiming that those who obtain a booster injection had a death rate similar to seasonal flu, or around 0.08 percent.

After months of debate, the FDA approved the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years old on Wednesday.

Infections among young people are on the rise throughout the country, with the proportion of patients aged 18 or younger climbing to 27.6% last week.

615,000 doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in South Korea later today.

According to the KDCA, the anticipated shipment will increase the overall number of coronavirus vaccinations delivered to 7.58 million this year, with the country expecting to bring in a total of 142.86 million doses.

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