Korea’s daily viral load exceeds 5,000 . for the first time

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Related press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s daily increase in coronavirus cases has surpassed 5,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as the delta-driven surge also pushes hospital admissions and deaths to a record high. Health experts have called on officials to re-apply stricter social distancing rules that were relaxed last month to ease the impact of the pandemic on the economy. Medical staff are also conducting genetic sequencing on a couple from Nigeria to determine if they are infected with the new coronavirus variant omicron. South Korea has yet to confirm a case of omicron, which is considered more infectious than previous strains of the virus.