New COVID-19 infections hit record high

A medical worker guides people as they wait for their COVID-19 test at a makeshift testing site in Seoul, Jan. 28. AP-Yonhap

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections exceeded 18,000 for the first time Monday, since the first local case emerged two years ago, due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 18,343 new cases, including 18,123 local ones, raising the total to 864,042.

Daily infections jumped after reporting more than 17,000 cases for the past three days through Monday.

The death toll reached 6,772, up 17 from Sunday for a fatality rate of 0.78 percent.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients was 272, down five from the previous day.

A revised virus response system went into effect Saturday to tackle the wave of the Omicron variant, which has become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the country.

Eighty percent of the country's confirmed cases during the last week were Omicron related. The health authorities are on high alert as it appears to be a matter of time before daily cases will exceed 20,000 due to increased gatherings of family members during the holiday.

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, the KDCA said, although those aged over 60 or in high-risk groups, such as having underlying illnesses, will be prioritized for PCR tests.

Beginning Thursday, local hospitals and clinics will also administer self-test kits.

The revised regime is designed to minimize critical cases and deaths, while preventing an overload and collapse of the medical system, the health agency said.

The system will expand nationwide after the three-day Lunar New Year holiday running till Wednesday.

Of the locally transmitted cases Tuesday, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 5,509, followed by the capital with 4,103 and the western port city of Incheon with 1,366. Cases from overseas rose 220 to 25,516.

As of Tuesday, 27.25 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)