First Time Daily Infection Cases Of COVID-19 Reach 170 Thousand, South Korean PM Asks Residents To Calm Down

JAKARTA - South Korea's prime minister on Wednesday asked people not to panic about the huge increase in Coronavirus infections as new daily cases jumped past 170,000 for the first time.

Serious cases and deaths are at manageable levels, despite record cases caused by the highly contagious variant of Omicron, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at a pandemic response meeting.

"While awareness and application of our anti-COVID rules should not be relaxed, there is no reason at all to be afraid or panicked about the number of new cases as in the past", he said, according to the transcript as reported by Reuters on February 23.

South Korea reported 171,452 new Coronavirus cases for Tuesday, another daily record and a sharp increase from 99,573 the day before, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Wednesday.

The death toll slowly rose, hitting a record high of 99 on Tuesday, but South Korean authorities said real-world data showed people infected with the Omicron variant were nearly 75 percent less likely to develop a serious illness or die than those infected with the Delta variant.

A study by the Korea Agency for Disease Control and Prevention (KDCA) of about 67,200 confirmed infections since December, showed the severity and mortality of the Omicron variant averaged 0.38 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively, compared with 1.4 percent. and 0.7 percent for the Delta case.

Then, about 56 percent of the 1,073 people who died over a five-week period were not vaccinated or received only one dose, the study showed, with people aged 60 or older responsible for 94 percent of deaths, officials said Monday.

Meanwhile, more than 86 percent of South Korea's 52 million population have been vaccinated with two doses and nearly 60 percent have received booster injections.

In addition, South Korea has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use by children aged 5-11, the country's Ministry of Food and Medicine said Wednesday.

Children should get a third of the usual dose, given twice at three-week intervals, the ministry said in a statement. Children with significantly reduced immunity can get a booster four weeks later.

PM Kim said social distancing rules would be relaxed after the peak of the current wave, which some experts expect may occur in mid-March.

"The spread of Omicron is still racing to a peak, but once it is confirmed that severe cases and deaths can be managed stably, we will reform the broad framework of our anti-virus quarantine policy, including social distancing", said PM Kim.

To note, the current rules include mandatory masks in public places, vaccine permits for certain locations and events, a limit of six people for private gatherings, restaurant operating hours until 10 o'clock in the grave, and a seven-day quarantine for international arrivals.

To date, South Korea has reported a total of 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 infection since the pandemic began, with the death toll reaching 7,607.