CONCERNS RISE OVER 7TH COVID-19 WAVE

[Anchor Lead]

New COVID-19 cases which have been declining since August appear to be rebounding again. Tuesday's daily tally was higher than a week ago, a trend that has continued for the 5th day, while Monday's tally was more than double than the previous week. Some forecast that what would be the 7th wave of Covid could come faster than expected.

[Pkg]

On September 23, the government announced all outdoor mask mandates will be lifted and said the outbreak was stably subsiding. 3 weeks later, the decline appears to have ended. The country reported some 33-thousand new infections on Tuesday. It's more than double from a week ago. The daily tally has been rising on-week for 5 days in a row. Some experts believe the 7th wave, with its peak expected in December, has already begun.

[Soundbite] Jung Ki-seok(Nat’l Advisory Panel against Infectious Diseases) : "The decline has stopped. Any further drop is unlikely. Come winter, flu and COVID-19 cases will only go up, not down."

Case numbers in Europe, viewed as an indicator that foretells future trends in Korea, are also on the rise in October. New omicron subvariants, known for their immune evasion, account for a larger portion of new cases.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Woo-joo(Korea Univ. College of Medicine) : "The inflow of variants is not being monitored. People mingle, eat and drink at festivals. The upward trend is expected to continue for the time being."

A possible twindemic of Covid and the seasonal flu could be a burden on the medical response system. Authorities continue to advise the Korean people to take updated vaccines for Covid as well as the flu vaccine.