Korea's daily COVID-19 cases spike to record high of over 600,000
People wait in line for a COVID-19 test at a public health center in southern Seoul, March 17. Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases spiked to more than 600,000 for Wednesday. Yonhap
Korea's daily COVID-19 infections spiked to more than 600,000 for Wednesday, setting yet another record high, fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant amid an easing of anti-coronavirus measures.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 621,328 new cases, including 62 from overseas, raising the overall total to 8,250,592.
The latest tally marks a 55 percent surge in just one day.
Korea has seen multiple spikes in its caseload since reporting the first five-digit figures in late January. Since then, the numbers have grown rapidly, easily surpassing 300,000, March 9.
The death toll more than doubled, also to a record daily high of 429, putting the total at 11,481 with a fatality rate of 0.14 percent.
The number of critically ill patients, seen as a key indicator in the pandemic response, came to 1,159, down from 1,244 the previous day. (Yonhap)