AT-HOME TREATMENTS INCREASE AMID OMICRON

[Anchor Lead]

With the omicron variant still transmitting rapidly, Korea’s number of new daily cases reached above 50,000 for five straight days. Now more than 230,000 people infected with the virus are being treated at home.

[Pkg]

Cars wait in a long line on the road. and people crowd this parking lot as they wait for their turn to get tested. Lines at the screening centers don’t seem to shorten even on the weekend as the omicron variant keeps raging on. 54,619 new cases were reported Monday, exceeding 50,000 for five straight days. The number of critically ill patients increased to 306, up 18 from the previous day. Cases keep rising in the 60-and-older population, who are more likely to become critically ill. Also, a record number of 232,086 people are being treated at home. Mildly symptomatic people who have to check their own conditions at home increasingly complain of anxiety and discomfort.

[Soundbite] Jeong Dae-ho(At-home patient) : "I was too weak to even turn off the light switch only a step away, so I slept with the light on for two days. When I called the hospital at 11 a.m., they told me to call back after 2 p.m."

Online sales of new COVID-19 self-test kits were suspended on Sunday. From now on, only up to five kits can be purchased at a time at pharmacies and convenience stores. Administration of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine in Korea began on Monday. The shot is made in the same way as conventional flu vaccines. The government will also announce a plan for fourth dose vaccination. Officials are examining a plan to administer fourth doses to nursing facility residents and those with poor immunity.