SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) — The total death toll since the start of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in South Korea has passed the 30,000 mark as the country prepares for a possible new outbreak this winter.
The nation reported 41 deaths from the virus the day before, bringing the total to 30,031, nearly three years after South Korea reported its first case of Covid-19 in January 2020, the Korea Control Agency said. disease prevention (KDCA). The dismal figure came about seven months after cumulative deaths from Covid-19 reached 20,000. In March of this year, the number surpassed 10,000.
The country reported 46,001 new infections on Sunday, including 57 imported cases, bringing the total number of cases to 26,558,765, according to the KDCA. Sunday’s figure marks a slight drop from last week’s 50,589 and down about 2,000 from last week.
But the number of critically ill patients rose to its highest level in about two months at 451, up 32 from the previous day. Earlier this month, the KDCA said a new wave of the epidemic appears to have begun and daily cases could rise to around 200,000 by December at the earliest.
In response, the government is working to better protect vulnerable groups by ramping up surveillance and expanding vaccination and treatment programs instead of re-imposing anti-virus measures.
