January 26, 2022 10:19
Daily coronavirus infections surged to a record 10,312 as of Wednesday morning due to the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
More than a half of them or some 8,278 cases were in the Seoul metropolitan area with 4,221 in Gyeonggi Province, 3,178 in Seoul and 879 in Incheon.
The average over the past week stood at 7,127 a day, up 68.4 percent compared to the previous seven days. The surge has led to a sharp increase in people being quarantined at home but not necessarily in serious cases or deaths.
As of Monday, 32,505 people were self-isolating at home, up from 21,610 on Jan. 20. Health experts warned the current lockdown and quarantine measures will not be sufficient to curb soaring infections which would peak just after the Lunar New Year.
The government is considering making more patients eligible for oral COVID-19 treatments, lowering the threshold from 60 to 50 years of age.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com