Korea's daily COVID-19 cases hit over 17,000 for 3rd day amid holiday
Passengers wearing face masks as a precaution against CPVID-19 line up to board planes ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday which falls Feb. 1, at the domestic flight terminal of Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, Jan. 29. AP-Yonhap
New daily COVID-19 infections hit more than 17,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday due to the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus amid the annual exodus for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 17,085 new cases, including 16,850 local ones, raising the total to 845,709.
Sunday's caseload inched down from Saturday's 17,532 cases, ending a six-day daily record-breaking streak that began last Monday.
The KDCA also recorded 23 more deaths for a toll of 6,755; while the number of critically ill patients remained unchanged from the previous day at 277.
A revised virus response system went into effect Saturday to tackle the Omicron wave that has become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the country.
Some 250 testing stations set up at public health centers and large hospitals will adopt both rapid antigen self-tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. People can choose which one they want to take, although those aged over 60 or in high-risk groups, such as having an underlying illnesses, will be prioritized for PCR tests.
Beginning Thursday, local hospitals and clinics will also administer self-test kits.
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 Lunar New Year holiday running till Wednesday.
Of the locally transmitted cases Monday, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 5,105, followed by the capital with 4,193 and the western port city of Incheon with 1,226.
As of Monday, 27.2 million people, or 53.1 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)