Coronavirus Global situation
South Korea's daily cases cross 100,000 for the first time
Social distancing rules eased just slightly before presidential election
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SEOUL • South Korea's new daily Covid-19 cases topped 100,000 for the first time amid its Omicron outbreak, with the authorities saying that social distancing measures would only be slightly eased ahead of the March 9 presidential election.
The authorities announced yesterday that they would move a curfew on restaurants and cafes from 9pm to 10pm, a nod to increasing criticism from business owners.
"The situation for small business owners and the self-employed is desperate," President Moon Jae-in told a meeting of aides yesterday, when calling for Parliament to quickly pass a supplemental budget with measures for "resolving the difficulties of the people's livelihood".
Other anti-pandemic rules, such as a six-person cap on private gatherings, a seven-day quarantine for international arrivals, mask mandates in public spaces, and vaccine passes for a range of businesses, will be in place until at least March 13, officials said.
Mr Moon is barred by the Constitution from running again. The two leading contenders are locked in what may be the tightest race in 20 years.
As cases have surged, South Korea has scaled back the tracking, tracing, and quarantining strategy that helped it keep earlier waves in check.
Now people with few or no symptoms are being treated at home rather than health facilities, and only people in priority groups get immediate access to free polymerase chain reaction tests.
Others must first take an antigen rapid test for faster initial diagnosis.
Some experts warn that daily cases could still double or treble, and have called for social distancing measures to be maintained.
The authorities say that serious cases have remained manageable so far, and deaths are relatively low.
More than 58 per cent of the country's 52 million population have received vaccine booster shots. Overall, more than 44 million people, accounting for 86.2 per cent of the population, are fully vaccinated.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said 109,831 new Covid-19 cases had been reported as at midnight on Thursday, taking the country's total tally to 1,755,809. An additional 45 deaths were reported, for a total of 7,283.
Meanwhile, South Korea's domestic demand is expected to be weakened amid the latest outbreak, a government report said yesterday.
REUTERS, XINHUA
