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| A person wearing a motorcycle helmet and a face mask passes by a makeshift COVID-19 testing site in Seoul, Jan. 28. AP-Yonhap |
Daily COVID-19 cases reached yet another record high here Friday, driven by the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and as a new nationwide response system came into force.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 17,542 new infections, including 17,349 local ones, raising the total to 811,122.
The number broke the daily record for the fifth consecutive day, spiking from 8,570, Monday.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,712, up 34 from Friday, for a fatality rate of 0.83 percent; while the number of critically ill patients was 288, down 28 from the previous day.
The KDCA said infection totals could surge to as many as 100,000 a day in the next several weeks, as the government introduced a revised response system Saturday to tackle the Omicron wave.
Some 250 testing stations set up at public health centers and large hospitals will adopt both rapid antigen self-tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. People can choose which one they want to take.
People aged over 60 or in high-risk groups, such as those with underlying illnesses, will be prioritized for PCR tests.
Beginning Thursday, local hospitals and clinics will also administer self-test kits.
The KDCA said the revised regime is designed to minimize critical cases and deaths, while preventing an overload and collapse of the medical system.
The system will expand nationwide after the three-day Lunar New Year holiday running till Wednesday.
Of the locally transmitted cases Friday, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported 5,588, followed by the capital with 4,166 and the western port city of Incheon with 1,599.
As of Saturday, 26.85 million people, or 52.3 percent of the country's 52 million population, had received booster shots, the KDCA said. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 43.97 million people, accounting for 85.7 percent. (Yonhap)
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