South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit over 40,000 for first time in 2 months
People wait to undergo COVID-19 tests at a testing station in Seoul, July 12. Yonhap
South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose to over 40,000 for the first time in two months as the country has experienced a resurgence of infections amid the fast spread of a highly contagious new Omicron subvariant.
The country added 40,266 new COVID-19 infections, including 398 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,602,109, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
It is the first time that the daily count surpassed the 40,000 level since May 11, when the figure came to 43,908 amid the spread of Omicron.
Wednesday's figure also more than doubled from 19,362 cases logged a week earlier, as the country has seen an upturn in infections from end-June due to the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.5.
The KDCA reported 12 deaths from the virus Wednesday, putting the death toll at 24,680. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 67, down from the previous day's 74. Despite the surge in new infections, the number of critically ill patients has stayed below 100 since last month. (Yonhap)