Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
AsiaEast Asia

Coronavirus: Omicron sends South Korea’s cases to new high; outbreak on Australian aid ship heading to Covid-free Tonga

  • South Korea reported 8,571 Covid-19 cases for Monday despite the extension of strict social distancing rules to slow Omicron’s spread
  • Elsewhere, New Zealand will proceed with plans to start a phased reopening of the border from the end of February

Reading Time:7 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Workers wearing face masks to help curb the spread of Covid-19 clear snow at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: AP
Agencies
South Korea’s daily count of new coronavirus cases topped 8,000 for the first time on Tuesday, as the highly infectious Omicron variant, which became dominant last week, spreads rapidly despite the recent extension of strict social-distancing rules to slow infection.
Advertisement

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 8,571 cases for Monday, exceeding the previous high posted in mid-December of 7,848.

Daily tallies had almost halved to around 4,000 this month but began rebounding last week because of Omicron infections, logging their second-highest level on Saturday.

The surge fuelled worries over a potentially bigger wave ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when tens of millions of Koreans usually travel across the country for family visits.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum issued a special statement on Monday to plead for people to refrain from travel and gatherings during the break, which starts on Saturday.

Advertisement

“It is no different to adding fuel to the raging flames if many people move around the country and meet each other,” he told a briefing.

Advertisement