South Korea breaks daily virus record for 2nd straight day

SEOUL – South Korea broke its regular grounds for coronavirus infections for a 2nd consecutive time connected Thursday with much than 5,200 caller cases, arsenic unit mounted connected a wellness attraction strategy grappling with rising hospitalizations and deaths.

The accelerated delta-driven dispersed comes amid the emergence of the caller omicron variant, which is seen arsenic perchance much contagious than erstwhile strains of the virus, and has fueled concerns astir prolonged pandemic suffering.

South Korea confirmed its archetypal 5 omicron cases Wednesday nighttime linked to arrivals from Nigeria, prompting the authorities to tighten its borderline controls.

The state volition necessitate each passengers arriving from overseas implicit the adjacent 2 weeks to quarantine for astatine slightest 10 days, careless of their nationality oregon vaccination status. South Korea since Sunday had already banned short-term overseas travelers arriving from 8 confederate African nations, including South Africa, and has present extended the aforesaid rules to foreigners coming from Nigeria.

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While the alarm implicit omicron has forced governments astir the satellite to tighten borderline controls, scientists accidental it is not yet wide whether the variant is much contagious oregon unsafe than erstwhile strains of the virus, including delta, which has devastated South Korea successful caller weeks.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said much than 4,100 of the 5,266 caller coronavirus cases came from the superior Seoul and its adjacent metropolitan region, wherever officials accidental 90% of intensive attraction units designated for COVID-19 are already occupied. A grounds 733 microorganism patients are successful superior oregon captious condition, portion the country’s decease toll is present 3,705 aft 47 patients died successful the past 24 hours.

Health experts person called for the authorities to reimpose strict societal distancing rules that were eased successful November to amended the economy, raising concerns that infirmary systems could go overwhelmed.

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