Daily COVID-19 cases top 90,000: PM

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases surged to over 90,000, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday, as the country struggles to contain the spread of the omicron variant.

Kim also said the government will decide whether to adjust current social distancing rules on Friday.

"We have to decide after considering both the spread of the omicron variant ... and damage to people's livelihood coming from tightened antivirus curbs that have been around more than two months," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Sejong.

Currently, the cap on private gatherings is six people, and a 9 p.m. curfew is imposed on restaurants' and cafes' business hours nationwide.

Kim earlier hinted at easing distancing curbs in a way that can help pandemic-hit small businesses, but not cause further spread of the virus.

While focusing medical resources on high-risk patients, the authorities recently initiated an enhanced at-home treatment system and pushed for stable supply of self-test kits.

Starting next week, the government will supply free self-test kits to kindergartens, elementary schools and elderly care facilities to better protect people at high risk of infection.

But Kim said there seems to a misunderstanding among parents that students can go to school only if they test negative with self-test kits provided by the government.

"It is a measure to protect their health and alleviate pressure of frequent testing," he said. (Yonhap)