Thanks to BA.5 variant, new infections near 100,000

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Thanks to BA.5 variant, new infections near 100,000

Published: 26 Jul. 2022, 18:58

Medical workers move a Covid-19 patient at Hyemin Hospital in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Korea’s daily Covid-19 cases soared to nearly 100,000 on Tuesday as the country enters its first wave of the pandemic without any major restrictions.

The country reported 99,327 new Covid-19 infections on Tuesday, the highest number since April 20’s 111,291 cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

All but 353 were locally transmitted.

Tuesday’s figure was 1.35 times the count one week ago and 2.66 times the count two weeks ago.

Along with the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, the number of critically ill patients is also increasing.

Covid patients in critical condition totaled 168 as of Monday midnight, the highest number since June 2. Compared to a week ago, the figure rose by 1.84 times.

Seventeen more people died of the virus overnight.

According to the KDCA, BA.5 variant accounted for 56.3 percent of all sequenced Covid-19 cases in the third week of July -- up 4.3 percentage points from the previous week -- and remained the dominant strain of Covid-19. BA.5 appears to spread faster and evade vaccine-acquired immunity than its predecessors.

On Monday, Korea reported its fourth case of the BA.2.75 or Centaurus variant, an Omicron offshoot that is even more contagious.

Commissioner of the KDCA Peck Kyong-ran called the current wave the “first resurgence of the virus without uniform restrictions” on gatherings or business hours and urged the public to follow public health measures voluntarily in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Saying that limits on social gatherings or business hours has “little effect on curbing the pandemic wave,” Peck once again ruled out a return to social distancing restrictions.

During the Omicron wave earlier this year, health officials concluded that caps on gatherings and business curfews did not have a significant impact on stopping the spread of the virus. Based on that conclusion, they gradually eased social distancing measures.

“With the public’s voluntary practice of social distancing, we will be able to overcome the virus wave,” Peck said.

Rather than restricting economic activity and daily life, the government said it will focus on protecting patients at high-risk.

“We will concentrate resources and administrative power on protecting people who are at higher risk of infection,” Peck noted.

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