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S. Korea records 421,000 new COVID-19 cases in a week
People line up to take a COVID-19 test in Seoul, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

People line up to take a COVID-19 test in Seoul, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

South Korea is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections as the government recorded more than 421,000 new cases and nearly 300 deaths in the last seven days.

Daily new cases stayed at around 54,000 for six days, but the number jumped to 90,443 on Wednesday, the latest official data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDC) showed.

The KCDC warned that the number could further climb to 170,000 by the end of the month.

The data also showed that the country had accumulated more than 1.5 million cases, resulting in more than 7,200 deaths.

People wearing face masks pass by a poster reminding the public of safety precautions against COVID-19 at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

People wearing face masks pass by a poster reminding the public of safety precautions against COVID-19 at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

Sports events including those from the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and Korea Volleyball Federation have been put on hold. There are KBL players openly criticizing the league for failing to protect athletes and their families.

Dilemma of curbs

South Korea, with a population of 52 million, has largely been a COVID-19 mitigation success story, thanks mainly to widespread wearing of masks, social distancing and aggressive testing and tracing. 

But authorities scrapped contact tracing and mandatory isolation for vaccinated people and adopted self-diagnosis and at-home treatment starting this month to free up medical resources.

The Omicron variant is now spreading fast in the country.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized for the sudden spike in cases, but he said the number of critical cases is still manageable.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum holds an anti-COVID-19 meeting in Sejong City, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum holds an anti-COVID-19 meeting in Sejong City, South Korea, February 16, 2022. /CFP

Current social distancing curbs in the country remain strict compared to the U.S. and the UK, including a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants, cafes and bars, and a six-person cap on private gatherings.

The government will announce on Friday if the curbs can be scrapped.

"The government will decide after considering both financial damages that people have suffered from the strict social distancing rules over the past two months, as well as the spread of (the) Omicron variant, which we don't know when its peak will arrive," Kim said.

The decision could be hard to make, as the new spike added more uncertainty to the coming presidential election on March 9.

(With inputs from agencies)

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