South Korea sees over 6,00,000 COVID cases in a day

WHO warns nations to be more vigilant as global cases showed an uptick

As the coronavirus pandemic seems to be tapering in India, with daily infections falling to the lowest levels since May 2020, the picture does not reflect similarly in a few other countries in Asia. Besides, the World Health Organisation has raised alarm about a global uptick in cases owing to the Omicron variant, its new sub-variant BA.2 or ‘Stealth Omicron’, and countries around the world gradually lifting COVID curbs.

On Tuesday, the WHO said global cases had jumped by 8% compared to the previous week, with the biggest surge in the “Western Pacific” region or in South Korea and China. Cases in the region rose by 25% and deaths by 27%.

On Thursday, South Korea reported an unprecedented, record high number of daily COVID-19 infections and deaths, as the country is set to lift virtually all social distancing curbs in the coming days. The country’s authorities said 6,21,328 new cases and 429 deaths were reported on Thursday.

This comes despite the country’s stringent anti-COVID approach, entailing aggressive tracking and tracing, mass testing and high vaccination and booster rates.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that behind the record surge was the highly infectious Omicron variant.

The current figures are far higher than what was predicted by South Korea’s health authorities. On March 16, the government had said it expected the recent wave to come to head with daily infections in the mid-4,00,000.

Even as cases surge to record levels, the South Korean government has decided to go ahead with lifting almost all social distancing restrictions in coming days and weeks, with public opinion seemingly supporting the decision.