SOUTH KOREA WITNESSES SURGE IN COVID-19 CASES

Fri 09 August 2024:

South Korea announced on Friday an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations as the country faces a summertime resurgence of the virus.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of people admitted to hospitals nationwide for COVID-19 has reached 861 in the first week of August, marking the highest level since early February.

This number represents a high rise from 148 hospitalizations in the second week of July, 226 in the third week, and 475 in the fourth week, Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reported.

The data reveals that 65.2% of the inpatients this month are aged 65 and older, with another 18.1% aged between 50 and 64.

In response to the surge, the government has decided to intensify its monitoring of senior citizens and other high-risk groups.

South Korea has reported approximately 34.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in 2019, according to Statista data.

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Rising COVID-19 cases globally

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said the circulation of COVID-19 is rising in all countries while an “alarming decline” in vaccine coverage has been observed.

“The virus is circulating in all countries,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

“Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising for several weeks.”

Overall, test positivity is above 10%, but this fluctuates per region, Kerkhove said, adding that in Europe, percent positivity is above 20%.

Wastewater surveillance suggests that the circulation of the virus is 2-20 times higher than what is currently being reported, she said, and warned: “This is significant because the virus continues to evolve and change, which puts us all at risk of a potentially more severe virus that could evade our detection and/or our medical interventions, including vaccination.”

“Such high circulation is not ‘typical’ for respiratory viruses that tend to increase in circulation in the colder months,” she said, noting that in recent months, regardless of season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19.

She added that even at the Olympics, currently, at least 40 athletes have so far tested positive.

These surges, which resulted in increases in hospitalizations and deaths in many countries, need to be prevented, she said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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