South Korea mulling over tighter rules as cases hit daily record

SEOUL • South Korea yesterday warned that it may reinstate stricter social distancing curbs as it posted a new record daily coronavirus tally due to a persistent spike in breakthrough infections among those vaccinated and serious cases.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) posted 7,850 cases for Tuesday, with the number of patients in serious condition also reaching a fresh high at 964.

Daily tallies of infections shot past 7,000 for the first time last week, just days after passing the 5,000 mark, putting ever greater strain on the country's medical capacity.

Total infections since the pandemic began have risen above 536,000, including 128 cases of the more transmissible Omicron variant, with 4,456 deaths, according to the KDCA.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the government is considering reimposing strict distancing curbs, including a ban on gatherings and a curfew on dining in eating establishments.

An official announcement is expected tomorrow.

"We're looking at the current situation very seriously, and seeking to implement even stronger social distancing measures," Mr Kim told an intra-agency meeting yesterday, without elaborating.

South Korea has fully vaccinated more than 94 per cent of its adults so far, and is accelerating its ongoing booster shot campaign by shortening intervals between the second and third dose for all ages.

But the number of new cases has surged almost five times and the number of serious cases has tripled since distancing rules were eased last month under a "living with Covid-19" policy.

The daily death toll also hit a high of 94 on Monday, compared with around 10 early last month, KDCA data showed.

The authorities have scrapped plans to further relax rules, but remain hesitant to trigger a circuit breaker that it had vowed to issue if more than 75 per cent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds are used nationwide, due to business backlash and growing public fatigue.

More than 81 per cent of ICU beds are occupied nationwide and the ratio topped 86 per cent for the greater Seoul area as at yesterday.

At least 29 Covid-19 patients have died at home in the last five weeks without ever being admitted because no hospital had beds available for them.

Patients with lower chances of survival were being admitted on the condition that they agree to do-not-resuscitate orders, said the Association of Physicians for Humanism and four other medical and welfare groups in a joint statement earlier this week.

REUTERS