S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases rebound to over 260,000

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections rebounded to over 260,000 during the 24 hours of Monday, the government reported Tuesday.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 cases came to 266,135, up 138,945 from the previous day’s 127,190. The total caseload rose to 14,267,401.

The country’s daily coronavirus cases jumped, largely as more people received COVID-19 tests after the weekend.

The number of COVID-19 tests during the 24 hours of Monday reached 379,806, more than double from the 170,299 tests the previous day.

Although daily cases increased, the omicron wave continued its slow but steady downward trend.

The daily tally reported on Tuesday is down from 347,490 a week earlier and 353,891 two weeks ago, government data showed.

The number of critically ill patients reached 1,121, staying between 1,100-1,200 for four straight days.

The government predicted severe cases to peak this week or the next and start to drop afterward. The country’s health authorities also noted the number of severe cases at its peak will be lower than they previously anticipated, between 1,300-1,800.

The hospital bed occupancy rate for critically ill COVID-19 patients also has remained within the country’s medical response capacity, with beds 65.6 percent full as of midnight Monday. The rate is down 2.5 percentage points from a day ago.

The number of COVID-19 deaths reported on Monday came to 209, down nine from a day earlier. The death toll reached 17,662, and the fatality rate logged 0.12 percent.

The number of people who are under at-home treatment also went down to 1,379,196, from the previous day’s 1,527,000.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)