Coronavirus: South Korea cases, deaths shoot up to record levels
- South Korea reported 621,328 infections and 429 deaths as the country’s Omicron outbreak showed no sign of slowing
- Elsewhere, New Zealand’s GDP rose 3.0 per cent in the fourth quarter as restrictions eased
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the Omicron variant was driving the record wave of infections and while a public survey revealed many expected to catch the virus, few feared serious health consequences.
Daily infections are far higher than health authorities had predicted. On Wednesday, the government said it expected the wave to top out with daily cases in the mid-400,000. Less than a month ago it had predicted the peak of the wave would come in mid-March at 140,000-270,000 daily cases.
KDCA official Lee Sang-won said some 70,000 cases and 200 deaths were missing in tallies over the past couple of days, apologising for errors in its compiling procedures. But he said the current wave has been stronger than expected and could continue to beat its predictions.
Despite the numbers, the government shows no sign of rethinking plans to remove almost all social distancing restrictions in coming days and weeks, and public opinion appears to support those moves.
It has pushed back a curfew on eateries to 11pm, stopped enforcing vaccine passes, and plans to drop a quarantine for vaccinated travellers arriving from overseas.
A decision on whether to ease further measures, such as a current six-person limit on private gatherings, is expected as early as Friday. South Korea also mandates masks in all public indoor and outdoor spaces.