Daily COVID-19 deaths hit all-time high

People wait in line to undergo a COVID-19 test at a testing site set up at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections fell below 140,000, Sunday, due mainly to fewer tests conducted over the weekend, but virus-linked deaths soared to a record high as critical cases rose at a rapid pace amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 139,626 new infections, including 139,466 local ones, raising the total caseload to 3,134,456.

The overall number of cases surpassed 3 million just about a week after reaching the 2 million mark ― the figure surpassed the 1 million mark earlier this month.

Sunday's total marked a drop from the previous day's 163,566. The tally surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in mid-February and soared to an all-time high of 171,442, last Tuesday, before staying around the 160,000 level in the following days.

The country reported 114 more deaths, up sharply from the previous day's 49, and the highest figure since the country reported its first COVID-19 death in February 2020.

The accumulated toll came to 8,058 for a fatality rate of 0.26 percent, according to the KDCA.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients also rose further to 715 Monday from the previous day's 663, up nearly 50 percent compared to a week earlier.

The authorities have said that the current wave is forecast to peak at some 250,000 daily cases by mid-March and they will focus on dealing with serious cases and preventing deaths while ditching a rigorous contact tracing scheme.

Amid a continued shortage of manpower handling the pandemic, the government announced Monday it would temporarily suspend the enforcement of the vaccine pass system starting Tuesday for use of 11 kinds of public facilities, including restaurants and cafes.

Currently, proof of vaccination or a negative test result is a must to enter those multiuse facilities, which has added to the burden of health workers to issue negative test certificates.

"The vaccine pass system was in place to support people's return to normalcy and to protect unvaccinated people when the delta variant with a higher fatality rate had spread," Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said.

"The new measure is, under the changed circumstances due to the rise in the Omicron variant, expected to help the authorities better mobilize resources in handling high-risk groups," he added.

The government also began dispatching officials from central government agencies to public health care centers under a plan to send 3,000 civil servants to assist in COVID-19 support work.

Around 1,000 military service members will also be mobilized this week to support treatment at home patients and in other administrative roles, according to the minister.

As of Monday, 31.36 million people, or 61.1 percent of the country's 52 million population, had received booster shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 44.36 million, accounting for 86.4 percent, according to the KDCA. (Yonhap)