South Korea reports highest ever daily rise in COVID-19 cases

People wait in line for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a testing site which is temporarily set up at a railway station in Seoul
Sangmi Cha
·1 min read

By Sangmi Cha

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea on Thursday reported its highest ever one-day number of new COVID-19 infections, as officials consider tightening social distancing restrictions.

The 1,275 cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, reported by the the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), exceeds the number of daily cases reported at the peak of the country's third wave in December.

The government warned on Wednesday it was considering raising movement restrictions to the highest level as the fourth wave was spreading rapidly, especially among unvaccinated people in their 20s and 30s. The rise of the Delta variant has also worried health officials.

Authorities said on Wednesday the virus was spreading rapidly, while a growing number of highly contagious Delta variant cases raised new worries.

Just 10% of the country's population of 52 million people have been fully vaccinated, while 30% have received at least one shot, the majority of them aged over 60.

South Korea's total COVID-19 infections stand at 164,028, with 2,034 deaths.

(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jane Wardell)

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Portugal posts over 3,000 new COVID-19 infections

    Portugal reported more than 3,000 daily coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours for the first time since February, data showed on Wednesday, as authorities pondered further measures to bring under control a worrying surge in infections. Wednesday's 3,285 new cases, a nearly 40% jump from the same day last week, brought the total number of infections in Portugal, a country of just over 10,000 million, to 896,026 since the pandemic started. Nearly 90% of cases in Portugal are of the Delta variant.

  • City Heat is Worse if You’re Not Rich or White. The World’s First Heat Officer Wants to Change That

    Black and Hispanic residents of U.S. cities are around twice as exposed as white people to the “urban heat island effect”

  • Japan to declare COVID-19 emergency for Tokyo as it mulls Olympics without fans

    TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo that will run through its hosting of the Olympics to try to contain a new wave of coronavirus infections, a key minister said on Thursday, as organisers consider banning all spectators from the Games. Organisers have already banned overseas spectators and have for now set a cap on domestic viewers at 50% of capacity, up to 10,000 people. Talks to finalise the restrictions on the spectators are expected either on Thursday or on Friday.

  • New York first state to declare disaster emergency on gun violence

    New York became the first state to declare a disaster emergency on gun violence on Tuesday.

  • Fewer people returning to work could solve housing crisis, says Robert Jenrick

    A permanent reduction to the number of staff working in offices in the wake of the pandemic could help the Government solve the housing crisis, Robert Jenrick has said. The Housing Secretary insisted on Tuesday that businesses now had the backing of a “strong government message” when it comes to encouraging their staff back to the workplace. His intervention came after Boris Johnson announced this week that the state guidance to “work from home” would be lifted at Step 4 of his roadmap out of lo

  • 10 Best Bargain Stocks Right Now

    In this article, we examined the 10 best bargain stocks right now based on Mario Gabelli’s Q1 portfolio. You can skip our detailed discussion about Mario Gabelli’s history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, and go directly to the 5 Best Bargain Stocks Right Now. The billionaire value investor Mario Gabelli, the founder, and CEO […]

  • How Angels star Shohei Ohtani fared pitching against Red Sox

    Shohei Ohtani starred as both a pitcher and a hitter in the Angels' win over the Red Sox on Tuesday. Here are some of his top highlights.

  • Missouri lags on COVID-19 vaccinations as delta variant spreads. Here’s where it ranks

    The New York Times data has Missouri ranked low while COVID-19 hits the state hard.

  • Tennis-Players won't accept strict quarantine for Australian Open again: Tiley

    All players arriving in Australia for the tournament earlier this year had to spend 14 days in quarantine before they were allowed out to play, and those requirements, designed to keep the new coronavirus out of the country, remain in place. Tiley said tennis players had been playing at tournaments in other countries without such strict restrictions and demanding they undergo strict quarantine before next January's Australian Open would be "a tough ask".

  • HK leader defends privacy law changes

    Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has responded to a warning that Facebook, Google and other tech firms would have to stop offering services in the city- if privacy laws there change.Lam said Tuesday the proposed changes will only target 'illegal behavior.'She singled out "doxxing", the sharing of people's personal data without their consent.During the city's 2019 anti-government protests, police were doxxed - when their details were released online.In late June, the the Asia Internet Coalition, which counts Facebook Google and Apple as members, issued a letter to Hong Kong officials.They argue changes to privacy laws in Hong Kong could see individuals hit with 'severe sanctions ' but gave no further details.Lam responded to reporter questions over that anxiety."Our amendment exercise targets illegal doxxing behaviour and empowers government officials to take action and carry out investigations. If an online platform is concerned about the privacy law, government officials will be happy to meet with them to listen to their concerns." She also expressed dismay at some residents mourning the death of a 50-year-old who stabbed a policeman before killing himself on July 1.That day marked the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule and the Chinese Communist Party's 100-year anniversary.Also on Tuesday, Lam said that "ideologies" posed risks to national security and urged parents, teachers and religious leaders to observe the behavior of teenagers and report those who break the law to the authorities.Since China imposed a sweeping national security law year the most prominent government opponents have been jailed or have fled abroad.Critics say the legislation has crushed the city's wide-ranging rights and freedoms, while supporters say it has restored stability.

  • US condemns assassination in Haiti, offers help

    The U.S. State Department has condemned the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounding of his wife. It occured during overnight raid on their home. (July 7)

  • Bachelorette Katie Thurston Defends Suitor Hunter Montgomery as He Reveals Tourette Syndrome

    Katie Thurston said that she wants "everyone to think twice before commenting negative things" about her contestants

  • The New Gossip Girl Was Doomed to Fail

    And the "twist" didn't help ...

  • India gets new ministers for health, IT, oil amid COVID crisis

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appointed new federal ministers for health, IT and oil as part of a reshuffle in a bid to reinvigorate his government amid fierce criticism of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Modi appointed Mansukh Laxman Mandaviya as the country's new health minister just hours after Harsh Vardhan, who was the face of the government's efforts to fight COVID-19, was asked to step down along with his deputy. Official sources said Vardhan had to pay the political price for the government's struggles to cope with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections.

  • Russia hacking claims pose challenge for Biden

    After a string of Russian-linked hacks, how will US President Joe Biden respond?

  • COVID-19 infections in England have quadrupled since June, study finds

    COVID-19 infections in England have quadrupled in a month since early June, a large prevalence study showed on Thursday, ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to fully re-open the economy in two weeks' time. Johnson said he aimed to end most legal coronavirus restrictions on July 19, even though models suggested cases would rise, saying that he was reconciled to more deaths from COVID-19 but that life needed to return to normal. According to the research, led by Imperial College London, cases were estimated to be doubling every six days as a new wave fuelled by the Delta coronavirus variant picks up pace.

  • 2022 Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid has pure electric range, near-V8 performance

    Bentley is adding the new 2022 Flying Spur Hybrid as a third powertrain option in the Flying Spur family that already includes a W12 and V8 model. This Flying Spur PHEV is the result of borrowing powertrain components from Porsche for its powertrain components. The horsepower is slightly down from the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid, but its 553 pound-feet of torque is identical to the Porsche from which its powertrain is derived from.

  • This inflatable pool is big enough for your whole family—and it's less than $40

    This top-rated inflatable pool is big enough for the family— and it can be yours for less than $40 right now.

  • Why Plug Power Stock Dropped Wednesday

    A collaboration to develop a liquid hydrogen fuel cell-powered truck will be competition for Plug Power.

  • German COVID-19 cases rise again after two months of decline

    BERLIN (Reuters) -The number of coronavirus cases in Germany ticked up again on Wednesday after more than two months of steady decline and most new cases have been of the Delta variant since the end of June, according to official data. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported 985 new infections to bring the total to 3.73 million, a rise of 177 cases compared to the daily increase a week ago. It also said that the more infectious Delta variant first identified in India made up 59% of cases at the end of June.