New daily record of virus cases in S. Korea
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South Korea yesterday reported a new daily record of 5,123 new coronavirus cases, as it battles to contain a sharp rise in patients with severe symptoms and stave off the Omicron variant.
The surge began in early November after the country started relaxing COVID-19 rules, and the government said on Monday it would hold off a further easing because of the strain on its healthcare system and the possible threat posed by the new variant.
Experts warned that cases would continue to rise until unvaccinated people obtained immunity through infections, as the country has fully inoculated nearly 92 percent of its adults and now focuses on vaccinating children and a booster program.
Although neighboring Japan has contained transmission, and kept new cases in Tokyo to single digit, South Korea is following a trend seen in many other countries, experts said.
Singapore, which has among the world鈥檚 highest vaccination rates and maintains strict COVID-19 rules, had a surge in infections and deaths for more than two months until it started stabilizing recently.
Current wave
鈥淭o slow the pace of the current wave of infections, the authorities could bring down the number of cases by re-introducing some of the social distancing measures,鈥 Jung Jae-hun, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon University.
South Korea said hospitals were treating 723 patients with severe COVID-19, a record number.
That is a steep rise in severe cases compared with just under 400 in early November.
Now nearly 90 percent of ICU beds in the greater Seoul area are occupied, with 842 patients waiting for beds.
To ease the strain on hospitals and care centers, South Korea this week began making at-home treatment the default for people with mild infections, with only more severe cases transferred to hospitals. Residential treatment centers will also be expanded.
South Korea has not reported any confirmed Omicron cases so far but is investigating suspected cases in travelers coming from Nigeria.
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