(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit over 40,000 for first time in 2 months

▲ People wait to undergo COVID-19 tests at a testing station in Seoul on July 12, 2022. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) coronavirus-additional cases

(LEAD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit over 40,000 for first time in 2 months

(ATTN: ADDS fresh antivirus measures, more details in last 9 paras)

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose to over 40,000 for the first time in two months as the country has experienced a resurgence of infections amid the fast spread of a highly contagious new omicron subvariant.

The country added 40,266 new COVID-19 infections, including 398 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,602,109, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

It is the first time that the daily count surpassed the 40,000 level since May 11, when the figure came to 43,908 amid the spread of omicron.

Wednesday's figure also more than doubled from 19,362 cases logged a week earlier, as the country has seen an upturn in infections from end-June due to the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5.

The KDCA reported 12 deaths from the virus Wednesday, putting the death toll at 24,680. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 67, down from the previous day's 74. Despite the surge in new infections, the number of critically ill patients has stayed below 100 since last month.

The KDCA has confirmed that the country began experiencing a new virus wave, ending a downward trend from the peak of more than 620,000 in mid-March.

Behind the resurgence is the BA.5 subvariant, which is known to be more contagious and better able to escape immunity compared with earlier versions.

The proportion of BA.5 cases among total infections in South Korea came to 35 percent during the July 3-9 period, compared with 28.2 percent a week earlier, and it is expected to become a dominant variant in the country soon, according to the KDCA.

In a move to better protect the people, the government announced that it will administer the fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot to a larger number of people.

Those in their 50s and older, as well as people aged 18 and older who have underlying health conditions, will be eligible for the second booster shot, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday.

Currently, the fourth dose is reserved for those in their 60s and older and those with an immune disorder, and 4.54 million people, or 8.9 percent of the total population, had received the fourth shot as of Tuesday, according to the KDCA.

The government also decided to maintain a seven-day mandatory quarantine for people who are infected with the virus.

A set of antivirus measures announced Wednesday did not involve strict social distancing rules, though Han said the government will review such curbs in case the virus situation sees "a grave change."

In April, the government removed almost all social distancing rules to support the people's return to normalcy, including private gathering limits and business hour curfews.

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