South Korea’s coronavirus infection rate soars to one of the world’s highest with omicron-fueled surge
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For most of the pandemic, South Korea has been hailed as one of the success stories in managing the coronavirus, but now, the country’s omicron-fueled surge has driven its infection rate to one of the highest in the world.
On Thursday, South Korea recorded its deadliest day during the pandemic, with 429 deaths in a 24-hour period. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 621,328 cases (1 percent of the population of 50 million), another daily record and a 55 percent increase from 400,730 the day before.
The surge follows South Korea’s rollback of anti-virus measures in recent weeks after the less fatal but highly contagious omicron variant became dominant in the country.
“Since omicron became the dominant variant, we have been making preparations for a surge in patients, but we are sorry about this sharp surge that exceeded our expectations,” he said.
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