New coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 4,000 in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic as a delta-driven spread continues to rattle the country after it eased social distancing in recent weeks to improve its economy. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said most of the new 4,116 cases reported Wednesday came from the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan region, where an increase in hospitalisations has created fears about possible shortages in intensive care units.The country's death toll is now 3,363 after 35 virus patients died in the past 24 hours. "The rise in serious cases has been considerably higher than what we had expected," Health Ministry official Son Youngrae said in a briefing. Son said officials are closely monitoring the situation and may announce steps to re-impose stronger social distancing measures in coming weeks if the spread continues to worsen.According to KDCA data, most of the virus patients who died in recent weeks were in their 60s or older, and the majority of them were not fully vaccinated or vaccinated at all. He said more than 83per cent of the region's ICUs designated for COVID-19 treatment are currently occupied.

Source: Economic Times November 24, 2021 21:46 UTC