Daily infections tops 260,000 for 1st time amid omicron's spread

▲ Workers check the temperatures of people entering Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 2, 2022, the day after the government suspended the enforcement of the vaccine pass system. (Yonhap)

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Daily infections tops 260,000 for 1st time amid omicron's spread

SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 260,000 for the first time Friday as the highly transmissible omicron variant rages across the country.

The country reported 266,853 new coronavirus infections, including 266,771 local cases, raising the total caseload to 3,691,488 according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Daily infections jumped from 198,803 cases Thursday. The daily caseload surpassed 200,000 for the first time Wednesday, a day after the government suspended the enforcement of the vaccine pass system over the lack of staff handling the pandemic.

Virus-related deaths rose to 186 on Friday from 128 a day earlier, bringing the death toll to 8,580. The fatality rate was 0.22 percent, the KDCA said.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients rose to 797 from 766 during the same period.



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