BA.5 subvariant wave keeps building

People line up to get a Covid-19 test at a screening clinic in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

New Covid-19 infections almost doubled compared to a week earlier for the third day in a row Thursday as the BA.5 wave grows.

Korea reported 18,511 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, raising its total caseload to 18,451,862, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Thursday’s number was 93 percent higher than last Thursday’s 9,591 cases, and 147 percent more than 7,493 cases two weeks ago.

New cases peaked during the Omicron wave in mid-March, hit a low of 3,423 on June 27, but recently started climbing and doubling week-on-week since Monday.

Experts said a sixth wave has begun fueled by the BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

Of the new cases, 194 were imported from overseas — remaining in the triple digits since June 24 and the easing of entry restrictions for travelers.

The number of Covid patients in critical condition went down by five from the previous day to 56, while ten new deaths from the virus were reported on Thursday.

As of Wednesday midnight, a total of 77,389 patients were receiving at-home care for Covid-19, rising above 70,000 for the first time in a month.

Despite the increase in new patients, from next Monday, expenses for Covid-19 home treatment — such as doctor's fees and medicine costs — will be the responsibility of a patient if the amount is small.

"The purpose is to increase sustainability and efficiency, such as focusing financial resources on the areas that are more in need and retaining the financial capacity to prepare for a possible resurgence in the second half of the year," explained Son Young-rae, senior epidemiological strategist at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, during a press briefing held on June 24.

Under the new plan, confirmed patients will have to pay for outpatient or non-face-to-face medical expenses and medicine for home treatment. According to the National Health Insurance Service, a patient pays 13,000 won ($10) at medical clinics and 6,000 won at pharmacies.

Expenses for hospitalization or antiviral pills, which are relatively expensive, will continued to be fully covered by the government.

In addition, an allowance for self-quarantine — which is currently given to all Covid-19 patients regardless of their incomes — will only be given to households earning less than the medium income based on health insurance premiums. About half of the nation’s population is expected to be eligible, the government said.

Meanwhile, the KDCA on Thursday released a press release encouraging fourth vaccine shots for people over 59, and urging people 80 or older to get them.

The quarantine authorities are also discussing ways to expand fourth Covid vaccine dose eligibility as the vaccine effectiveness is waning. Groups currently eligible for a fourth dose are people over the age of 59; immune-compromised people; and residents or workers at nursing hospitals.

“Not all ages need to be vaccinated with a fourth dose,” said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital.

The vaccines currently in use were made based on the first coronavirus to emerge in Wuhan, making it more difficult to prevent infection against the soon-to-be-dominant Omicron sublineage BA.5, which already appears to evade vaccine-acquired immunity. Even though vaccines help infected people from deteriorating into severe illness, young, healthy people are less likely to become seriously ill from Covid-19, Kim said.

In addition, many eligible people didn't get their fourth jabs.

The rate of people over 59 who were inoculated with a fourth dose was 31.4 percent as of Thursday.

Omicron-specific Covid vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna are planned to be ready by October, but it remains unclear how early they can be sent to Korea.

“It is important to procure the bivalent vaccine boosters as soon as possible,” said Jung Ki-suck, a professor of pulmonary medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, who heads the National Infectious Diseases Consulting Committee.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]