S. KOREA RECORDS OVER 320,000 CASES

[Anchor Lead]

Daily COVID-19 cases have topped 320,000 for two consecutive days in Korea. Some cautiously say the outbreak is about to peak. The accrued number of cases has surpassed five million, meaning 10 percent of the nation's population has been infected.

[Pkg]

South Korea added 327,549 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, topping 300,000 once again. The tally dropped slightly from the previous day, but the outbreak continues to rage. The government expected the figures to reach 350,000 by mid-March. Thursday's tally came close to that. The virus is spreading faster than predicted due mainly to relaxed restrictions and the spread of the Stealth omicron variant.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jung Jae-hun(Gachon Univ.) : "There are clear signs that the outbreak has almost peaked. The trend could persist for two more weeks before daily cases decline gradually."

The accrued number of coronavirus cases in the nation now stands at some 5.2 million. One in every ten people was infected. The number of serious cases could surge 2-3 weeks later. The figures remained above one thousand for three consecutive days, more than doubling from two weeks ago. Six out of ten ICU beds are already occupied. Authorities say the nation's health care system is capable of handling the ICU patients for now.

[Soundbite] Park Hyang(Central Disasters Management HQs(Mar. 8)) : "As long as ICU beds are operated efficiently, hospitals can accommodate as many as ICU 2,500 patients."

But medical workers say it's too soon to let the guard down.

[Soundbite] Prof. Choi Jae-wook(Korea Univ.) : "ICU beds were secured by using regular hospital beds, not by adding new ones. Beds for regular patients are allocated to COVID-19 patients in urgent cases."

The government will review allowing medical professionals diagnose COVID-19 using only rapid antigen tests.