S. KOREA REPORTS 109,831 NEW CASES

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported a record high of 109,831 COVID-19 cases, surpassing 100,000 for the first time. Subsequently, the number of patients being treated at home exceeded 350,000, and the number of serious cases which had stabilized lately is now showing signs of increasing.

[Pkg]

Neighborhood clinics have been treating COVID-19 patients at home through remote means. Medical professionals call them during lunch time.

[Soundbite] "If you have a persistent fever with severe cough and phlegm and breathing difficulty, you can come in person to see the doctor."

Each doctor has to call dozens of patients every day. Their workload spiked suddenly yet it’s become harder for them to find staff members.

[Soundbite] Dr. Oh Jae-kook(Head Doctor, Boaz ENT Clinic) : "It’s hard for us to hire new staff members. If we cut down on our staff, we won’t be able to run this system. Our staff members are already working hard under uncertain conditions."

The daily virus tally reached 109,831 surpassing 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic started. This has led to a spike in the number of patients being treated at home. The figure surged from around 200,000 to 350,000 in just five days. The medical system for those at-home patients has been under increasing pressure. The government decided to strengthen cooperation in order to encourage more participation by smaller hospitals and local clinics.

[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-chul(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "The number of local clinics that provide COVID-19 tests has increased dramatically over the past ten days to stand at about 4,400. The number of hospitals and clinics that treat patients being treated at home has increased to some 5,000 including respiratory clinics."

The number of serious cases, which had remained stable, is showing concerning signs of increase. Although it's four fewer than the day before, the figure still hovers near 400.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jung Jae-hun(Gachon Univ. College of Medicine) : "Even without modifying distancing measures, we’ll see cases spike for the next 2 to 3 weeks. Once it reaches a peak, the situation may become quite difficult."

So far, roughly 2,600 ICU beds are still available nationwide. Given that 0.4% of omicron-infected people grow seriously ill, experts warn Korea could see hundreds of new critically ill patients daily, two or three weeks later.