Daily COVID-19 cases exceed 5,000 amid omicron variant concerns

Dec 02, 2021, 08:46 am

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A quarantine official passes by at Incheon International Airport on Dec. 1, 2021./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Lee Sun-young

South Korea reported Wednesday that its daily COVID-19 case count surpassed 5,000 for the first time. Amid the exploding number of new patients, a series of suspected cases of the Omicron virus variant reported in the country is putting health authorities on high alert.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 5,123 new COVID-19 cases were detected on Tuesday, surpassing the previous high of 4,115 recorded on Nov. 23.

In addition, the country reported its first suspected cases of the new omicron variant, recently designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the KDCA, there are four people in South Korea who are suspected to have been infected with omicron. A couple living in Incheon are suspected to have confirmed with the omicron. They visited Nigeria from November 14th to 23rd and tested positive upon arrival in South Korea on November 25. Two others who picked them up from the airport were also confirmed with the virus, and are suspected to have the new variant as well.

The problem is that suspected cases of omicron infection is highly likely to be added.

Health authorities have been tracing passengers who were on the same flight with the couple. Of 81 passengers, 45 arrived in South Korea and the nationalities of the arrivals are under investigation.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that a Namibian diplomat, who was the first in Japan to have been infected with the variant, made a stopover at Incheon International Airport before arriving in Japan on Sunday.

According to Japanese media reports, the diplomat was on board a plane that left Adis Ababa and made a stopover at Incehon International Airport before arriving at Narita airport near Tokyo.

Experts point out that the inflow of the omicron variant, which is believed to be more contagious and dangerous than the delta variant, may collapse the domestic medical system, which has already reached its limit.

In fact, critically ill patients reached an all-time high of 723, marking the first time the number surpassed the 700 mark. The country added 34 more deaths from the virus Wednesday. The mortality rate stood at 0.81 percent, up from 0.78 percent reported a month earlier.

Bed capacity is also reaching its limit. Now nearly 90 percent of ICU beds in the greater Seoul area are occupied.

Bed capacity in Seoul has already exceeded 90 percent. The five major general hospitals in the capital city are no longer able to receive additional patients.

In the greater Seoul area, 842 patients are waiting for beds, with 474 of them are in their 70s and older.

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