A medical worker checks a boy's temperature at a children's hospital in Seoul, Tuesday. The government is scrambling to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a resurgence in cases, which is expected to peak in late August when students return to school after summer vacation. Yonhap
The government is scrambling to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a resurgence in cases, which is expected to peak in late August when students return to school after summer vacation.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Tuesday, officials are taking necessary measures to minimize the damage as a new COVID variant, KP.3, spreads throughout the country's most major cities.
Yet for now, strong measures implemented during the pandemic, such as mass testing and mask mandates, are not under consideration as the risk of a sudden rise in severe cases remains low, an official told The Korea Times.
The health agency's data shows the number of people admitted to 220 hospitals nationwide for COVID-19 jumped to 861 in the first week of August from 148 in the second week of July — the highest number since it fully shifted to an endemic approach to the disease in May.
A children's hospital in Busan reportedly said the daily number of patients who were confirmed to have contracted the virus there a day increased to about 10 in recent days, compared with just one or two in the first week of this month.
Officials believe the figure will likely continue to swell in the coming weeks, with pupils and many workers preparing to return to their regular duties after the summer break, which is typically concentrated between mid-July and late August.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, senior KDCA officials said the latest wave of COVID-19 infections will likely pass without causing chaos in the country's medical system, given the low fatality rate of KP.3 as suggested in data from other countries such as the U.S. and Britain.
“We are responding while maintaining the current lowest disaster level … So far, there have been no major issues in our efforts to respond,” said Son Young-rae, a director at the KDCA's infectious disease management division.
The COVID-19 disaster level was lowered in May from the second-highest alert level when the agency lifted the last remaining pandemic mandates, including indoor mask requirements for hospitals.
Nevertheless, the agency said it will expand its COVID-19 response team amid concerning signs of growing demand for self-testing kits and medicine.
A man walks past a sign promoting medicine for COVID-19 patients in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
According to pharmaceutical companies, demand for such equipment has been increasing in recent weeks, but not to a level beyond their production capacity.
An employee at SD Biosensor, a COVID-19 test kit maker, reportedly said “there is no problem” with increasing the production capacity to meet the rising demand.
The current wave is led primarily by KP.3, an Omicron subvariant accounting for nearly 50 percent of new cases in Korea, according to latest data.
In an effort to contain the current and future spread of COVID-19, the agency said it will also conduct a mass vaccination program in October with vaccines known to be effective for KP.3 and other variants descended from JN.1.
Vulnerable people, including those aged 65 or older, as well as workers at high-risk facilities such as specialized hospitals for older adults and homeless shelters, can receive vaccine shots for free, according to the agency. Others can also obtain them at their own expense.
Details of the vaccination program will be announced next month. Officials are now working to secure the newest COVID-19 vaccines for people in Korea.