Workers at a plant manufacture COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits in Chungju, 147 kilometers south of Seoul, on Feb. 11, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections stayed above 50,000 for the second day in a row Friday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation.
The country reported 53,926 new COVID-19 infections, including 53,797 local cases, raising the total to 1,239,287, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Friday’s tally is 1.97 times higher than the 27,438 reported a week earlier and 3.35 times higher than the 16,093 reported two weeks ago.
As of 9 p.m., the country had added 52,288 new COVID-19 cases, up 2,567 from the same time the previous day, according to health authorities and city governments. It marked the highest figure for the time period.
The greater Seoul area accounted for 64.7 percent.
Daily cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.
New infections have soared by nearly fourfold over the past two weeks due to the omicron variant, which accounted for more than 92 percent of the total cases reported last week.
The health authorities have warned that the figure could reach 170,000 by around the end of this month, though it is too early to say if it will be the peak of the omicron surge.
The National Institute of Mathematical Sciences, South Korea’s state-run think tank, estimated daily new cases could even reach a maximum of 360,000 by early next month.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 7,012, up 49 from Thursday.
The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients was 271, down 11 from a day earlier, the KDCA said. The daily tally stayed in the 200′s range for 14 days in a row.
At-home patients increased to 177,014, up 2,837 from a day earlier, as more people have shown mild or no symptoms due to the omicron variant, according to the KDCA.
A test is under way at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul on Feb. 11, 2022, when the country reported 53,926 new cases. (Yonhap)
