COVID Death Toll Rises

Almost 30 people are dying of or with coronavirus in Korea every day, placing the country among the highest fatality rates in the developed world.

Infections are spreading like wildfire, rising from around 2,000 in early November to over 7,000 for the first time on Wednesday. Another 7,102 people tested positive as of Thursday morning.

According to new projections from health authorities, the number of daily cases could rise to 11,000 a day by the end of January. Until last month, they had projected daily cases would rise to 6,500, but quickly revised up that estimate after witnessing the surge in infections.

According to Our World in Data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Korea stands at 1.42 percent, up 14-fold since July. That puts Korea at ninth place in the OECD and the second to worst after the U.S.' 2.19 percent among G7 countries. The global average is 1.41 percent.

Health experts are calling on the government to take bold measures to stem the rise in infections by imposing a fresh lockdown. Some are urging the government to focus on saving lives instead of worrying about the economic damage.