The number of critically ill patients also rose to a record high of 840, up 66 from a day early, while the death toll increased by 63 to 4,020, the agency said. People aged over 60 account for 35% of the total caseload and 84% of critically ill patients, including those whose immunities have waned since receiving their first two vaccine doses early this year.
According
to report, South Korea has reported a record daily total of 7,175 new Covid
cases as officials urged people to complete their vaccinations.
The prime
minister, Kim Boo-kyum, warned that hospitals were coming under intense
pressure amid a rise in serious cases, days after the government announced a
return to stricter restrictions on social gatherings.
The total
caseload rose to 489,484 on Wednesday, according to the Korea Disease Control
and Prevention Agency. That was a rise of 2,221 from a day earlier, the biggest
daily jump since the start of the pandemic.
Kim said
the government would increase the number of hospital beds in the Seoul area,
where 80% of infections were reported, but conceded that it would be “tough to
catch up with the pace of rising cases”.
It would
also mobilise more medical personnel to monitor patients with mild symptoms who
are treating themselves at home and speed up hospital transfers among those who
develop severe symptoms, Kim told a virus response meeting. Private clinics
would be enlisted to treat Covid patients to ease the pressure on large hospitals,
he added.
The recent
surge, in a country that had been relatively successful in keeping infections
and deaths to a minimum, is being attributed to young people who have yet to be
fully vaccinated and older citizens who have not received boosters.
Having
kept the virus in check for much of the pandemic, South Korea has had, on
average, more than 5,000 new cases a day for the past week. It has identified
38 cases of the Omicron variant.
In
response, the government introduced stricter social distancing and other
measures on Monday that will remain in place until early January, the Yonhap
news agency said – a move that came just weeks after it eased measures as part
of its “living with Covid-19” approach.
Private
gatherings will be limited to a maximum of six people in the Seoul area and to
eight outside the capital. The numbers had previously been capped at 10 and 12.
In
addition, people wishing to access “high-risk” venues such as pubs, saunas and
gyms will have to show proof of full vaccination or a negative coronavirus
test.
Kim
acknowledged that the measures would create anxiety among small business
owners, but added: “We know from experience that if virus prevention falters,
then so do people’s lives.”
No comments:
Post a Comment