People wait in line to take tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Nov. 11, 2021, when the country reported 2,520 new cases. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea may not further ease its coronavirus restrictions, the country’s top public health official warned Thursday, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.
South Korea began easing virus curbs in November in the first of the three-phase “living with COVID-19″ scheme. It had planned to move to the second phase in mid-December after a two-week evaluation period.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said it may be difficult to move to the second phase of the scheme if new cases continue to grow.
The country reported 2,520 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 388,351, the KDCA said.
Thursday’s tally marked a slight hike from the previous day’s 2,425, which marked the first time in six days that daily infections exceeded 2,400.
The daily infection tally has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7, including the record high of 3,272 cases on Sept. 25.
“If the current trend continues, we will need to maintain the first phase or tighten virus restrictions,” Jeong said during a parliamentary session.
Under the first of the three-phase scheme, people are allowed to gather in groups of up to 10, regardless of vaccinations. Still, basic preventive measures like wearing masks indoors remain in effect.
Operation hour curfews for businesses that cover restaurants, cafes and movie theaters are fully lifted, except for entertainment facilities.
High-risk facilities, such as bars and nightclubs, have introduced a “vaccine pass” system that requires visitors to be fully vaccinated or have a negative test result.
People wait in line to take tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Nov. 10, 2021, when the country reported 2,425 new cases. (Yonhap)
The death toll rose by 21 to 3,033 on Thursday, health authorities said. The fatality rate came to 0.78 percent.
The number of patients in serious or critical condition came to 473, up 13 from the previous day.
Later in the day, health authorities said 2,153 new cases had been confirmed as of 9 p.m. on Thursday, up 13 from the same time the previous day. The daily tally is counted until midnight and announced the following day.
Daily cases are expected to reach around 2,500 on Friday.
The health authorities warned there could be more cluster infections under the eased social distancing scheme meant to bring the country gradually back to pre-pandemic normalcy.
As of Thursday, 41.76 million people, or 81.3 percent of the country’s 52 million population, had received their first COVID-19 vaccine shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 39.73 million, or 77.4 percent.
The health authorities predict full vaccination rates to reach 80 percent around mid-December.
In Seoul, the bed utilization rate for coronavirus patients in serious or critical condition stood at 74.8 percent Thursday.
South Korea also reported its first death after a patient received a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Health authorities said they will need to investigate the case to determine the cause of death.
(Yonhap)
