Korea's daily COVID-19 cases hit fresh high amid Lunar New Year holiday
A sign for social distancing is seen as passengers line up to board planes at the domestic flight terminal of Gimpo airport in Seoul, Jan. 29, ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday which falls on Feb. 1. AP-Yonhap
Daily COVID-19 cases reached an all-time high of 17,532, Saturday amid the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus as people headed to their hometowns or went on trips during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 17,532 new infections, including 17,303 local ones, raising the total caseload to 828,637.
The number of cases broke the daily record for the sixth consecutive day, spiking from 8,570, Monday.
The KDCA had earlier said Friday's total reached 17,542 but corrected this to 17,526, citing erroneous reporting.
The government has urged people to refrain from traveling during the holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19, warning the infection tally could surge to as many as 100,000 a day in the next several weeks.
Passengers wearing face masks as a precaution against COVID-19 line up to board planes at the domestic flight terminal of Gimpo airport in Seoul, Jan. 29, ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday which falls on Feb. 1. AP-Yonhap
This year's Lunar New Year holiday runs from Monday to Wednesday and is extended by two days due to the preceding weekend.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,732, up 20 from Friday, for a fatality rate of 0.81 percent.
Critically ill COVID-19 patients numbered 277, down 11 from the previous day.
On Saturday, South Korea introduced a revised virus response system to tackle the Omicron wave.
Some 250 testing stations set up at public health centers and large hospitals began providing both rapid antigen self-tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. People can choose which one they want to take, however, those aged over 60 or in high-risk groups, such as having underlying illnesses, are prioritized for PCR tests.
Local hospitals and clinics will also administer self-test kits beginning Thursday.
The KDCA said the revised regime is designed to minimize critical cases and deaths, while preventing an overload and collapse of the medical system.
The system will expand nationwide after the three-day holiday.
Of the locally transmitted cases Sunday, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 5,662, followed by the capital with 4,157 and the western port city of Incheon with 1,306.
As of Sunday, 27 million people, or 53 percent of the country's 52 million population, had received booster shots, the KDCA said. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 44 million people, accounting for 86 percent. (Yonhap)