Officials at Songpa District Office in Seoul look at a screen showing 100,285 daily COVID-19 cases reported on Wednesday, the highest figure in over three months. Joint Press Corps

Number of daily new infections tops 100,000, highest figure in over 3 months

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government has announced plans to curb the ongoing COVID-19 wave through "autonomy- and solidarity-based" quarantine measures in daily life, Wednesday, as Korea is grappling with a massive surge of infections fueled by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has ruled out the reintroduction of a mandatory social distancing scheme as had been used earlier in the pandemic, considering the socio-economic damage it would likely cause.

Moreover, the lower fatality rate of the Omicron series of subvariants ― which stood at 0.06 percent as of June ― is another reason the health authorities believe that the current wave could be overcome without reinstating mandatory social distancing measures.

"This is the first wave of infections without limitations on private gatherings and operating hours (of multiuse facilities). We urge every individual voluntarily to follow the quarantine measures," KDCA chief Peck Kyong-ran said during a joint briefing by the relevant ministries.