New COVID-19 cases soar to all-time high of nearly 50,000 amid raging omicron

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections rose sharply to hit another high of nearly 50,000 on Wednesday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation.

The country reported 49,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 49,402 local cases, raising the total to 1,131,248, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

It marked the first time that the daily tally exceeded the 40,000 level. The previous daily record high was 38,689 recorded Sunday.

The daily caseload surged to over 30,000 for the first time Saturday, just three days after breaking the 20,000 mark, and stayed between 30,000 and 40,000 for four days in a row.

New infections have soared by nearly fourfold over the past two weeks over the omicron variant, which accounted for more than 92 percent of the total cases reported last week.

The health authorities have warned that the figure could reach 170,000 by around the end of this month, though it is too early to say if it will be the peak of the omicron surge.

The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,943, up 21 from Tuesday. The fatality rate was 0.61 percent.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients was 285, up 17 from a day earlier, the KDCA said.

At-home care patients rose sharply to 168,020 as more people have shown mild or no symptoms. As of Wednesday, the country had the capacity to manage 183,000 at-home care patients, according to the KDCA.

In a move to better manage the situation under the current medical system, the authorities decided to make daily checkup calls to only COVID-19 patients in their 60s and older, citizens in their 50s and with underlying health issues, and other high-risk groups, such as those with a compromised immune system.

Low-risk patients will be left to check their conditions by themselves and contact local hospitals when their conditions worsen. The new measures will be in place starting Thursday.

"Given features of the omicron variant, the government changed the COVID-19 response strategy to focusing more on taking care of serious cases and minimizing deaths," Second Vice Health and Welfare Minister Ryu Geun-hyuk said.

For low-risk, at-home care patients, the government has been running nighttime counseling centers and reserved a certain portion of hospital beds at emergency rooms across the country, he added.

As of Tuesday, 28.59 million people, or 55.7 percent of the country's 52 million population, had received booster shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 44.16 million people, accounting for 86 percent.

Starting Wednesday, US-based biotechnology company Novavax Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine will be available in South Korea, and it is expected to be administered to unvaccinated people aged 18 or older, according to the KDCA.

The vaccine was manufactured in South Korea by local vaccine developer SK Bioscience Co. after the government authorized its use last month. The authorities have said that this "classic" type of vaccine could encourage more people to consider getting shots. The KDCA said it plans to announce detailed inoculation plans later this week.

Effective on Wednesday, the duration of the mandatory quarantine for all COVID-19 patients was set at seven days. Previously, those who did not receive coronavirus vaccines were required to be in isolation for 10 days, while the seven-day quarantine was a must for vaccinated patients. (Yonhap)