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People wait in line at a testing site near Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap) |
South Korea broke its single-day COVID-19 case record again Thursday with infections topping 20,000 for the second day in a row, as holiday gatherings and travel fueled omicron's fast spread.
The country reported 22,907 new virus infections, including 22,773 local cases, raising the total to 907,214, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The previous daily record was 20,270 reported on Wednesday.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,812, up 25 from a day earlier. The fatality rate was 0.75 percent.
Critical cases of COVID-19 were 274, down four from the previous day.\
Health authorities have warned that the five-day Lunar New Year holiday, which ended Wednesday, could send virus cases to new heights in the weeks to come.
As South Korea averaged 18,533 daily cases over the past week, the country enforced a new testing regime on Thursday to more effectively deal with the omicron-fueled COVID-19 wave and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Under the new system, only those who test positive in rapid antigen tests will be able to receive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in principle. People aged over 60 or in high-risk groups, such as those with underlying health conditions, will be prioritized for PCR tests.
Approximately 700 neighborhood clinics and respiratory hospitals begin to offer coronavirus testings and treatments for at-home care patients.
Of the locally transmitted cases, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 6,532, followed by Seoul with 5,191 and the western port city of Incheon with 1,533. Cases from overseas rose 134 to 25,808.
As of Thursday, 27.26 million people, or 53 percent of the country's 52 million population, had received booster shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 43.99 million people, accounting for 85.7 percent. (Yonhap)
