A notice on the government’s omicron booster shot vaccination plan is posted on the wall of a public health center in Seoul on Oct. 11, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases stayed above 40,000 for the second straight day Wednesday, fanning concerns of a possible resurgence of the pandemic.
The country reported 40,842 infections, including 81 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,396,155, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The figure is higher than the past seven day average of 27,259, showing signs of a possible rebound in infections.
The latest R number, which is a way of rating coronavirus or any disease’s ability to spread, rose to 1.09. If the R value is higher than one, it means the number of cases is increasing.
The country reported 26 deaths, bringing the death toll to 29,043. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 242, up from 225 a day earlier.
The government on Tuesday said it will encourage more adults over 18 to get vaccine booster shots amid growing concerns of a “twindemic” outbreak of COVID-19 and the seasonal flu this winter.
People can choose between three types mRNA vaccines — the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against the BA.1 omicron variant, or a Pfizer booster shot against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variant — or a protein subunit vaccine like Novavax.
Reservations will start on Thursday.
Adults who have either completed a full round of vaccinations or tested positive for COVID-19 more than four months (120 days) ago will be eligible for inoculations, the KDCA said.
The government also urged the public to remain vigilant against the virus and attend to personal hygiene, saying the number of people reported for not wearing masks inside subway trains recently doubled from earlier this year.
(Yonhap)
