People line up to undergo COVID-19 tests at a makeshift testing station in Seoul on Nov. 16, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases rose to the highest Wednesday figure in two months in the latest sign that the virus may surge again in the winter.
The country reported 66,587 new COVID-19 infections, including 67 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,357,464, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
It marked a fall from 72,883 on Tuesday, but it is the highest Wednesday tally since Sept. 14 when there were 93,949 new infections.
South Korea’s COVID-19 outbreaks have recently shown an on-week increase, with authorities keeping a close watch against a wintertime resurgence.
The previous wave of the omicron subvariant peaked at over 180,000 cases on Aug. 17.
South Korea added 47 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, raising the death toll to 29,795. The number of critically ill patients stood at 411, down one from the previous day.
Health authorities showed concerns about the low inoculation rate of a booster dose of the BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine during wintertime, which could accelerate the pace of the virus wave.
Pfizer’s advanced COVID-19 booster shot has been available since Monday for walk-ins and reservations for people aged 18 and older who were infected or vaccinated over 120 days ago.
The BA.5 variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant strain in South Korea, taking up around 91 percent of total infections in the first week of November.
(Yonhap)
