Although the fourth viral wave of Covid-19 has slowed somewhat, health authorities expressed concerns that a far more contagious Omicron variant will emerge as the dominant strain in Korea by the end of January.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, there were 2,351 people infected with Omicron variant as of midnight Sunday, up 1,033 (43.9 percent) from 1,318 on Jan. 3.
People in their 20s and 30s accounted for the most Omicron cases, with the share of those aged 20-39 reaching 48.1 percent (1,131 people), followed by those aged 40-59 (24 percent), and under 20 (19.6 percent).
Among 17 provinces and metropolises, Seoul reported the highest Omicron cases with 432, followed by Gyeonggi Province (288), North Jeolla Province (232), Gwangju (211), and Daegu (203).
While most Omicron patients showed asymptomatic or mild symptoms, authorities have confirmed one new severe case, bringing the total number of severe cases to two.
The newly confirmed severe case was a man in his 70s who arrived from South Africa and received the Janssen vaccine. The patient later tested positive for the Omicron variant and saw severe progression.
Last week, there were no additional deaths due to Omicron mutation infection. However, two Omicron patients in their 90s died while receiving treatment at hospitals in Gwangju, some 330 km south of Seoul, last month.
With Omicron cases increasing, quarantine authorities have predicted that the variant is highly likely to become the dominant species this month and are preparing to switch the quarantine system in advance.
"As we see it, the Omicron variant is highly likely to emerge as a prevalent strain by the end of this month," said Lee Sang-won, director of epidemiological investigation and analysis at the Central Disease Control Headquarters.
The quarantine and medical division of the Daily Recovery Support Committee also stressed the need to change quarantine and medical strategies quickly.
It called for dispersing the treatment of confirmed patients to neighborhood clinics and changing hospitals’ sickbed operations to focus on home treatment.
President Moon Jae-in also called for his senior secretaries to do everything possible to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
"It will only be a matter of time before the Omicron variant becomes the dominant strain in the country," Moon said. "If the Omicron becomes the prevalent variant, it will be unavoidable that the number of confirmed patients will surge again if temporarily."
However, Moon noted that the threat of the Omicron variant, believed to be less severe than other strains of Covid-19, could be the final hurdle of the pandemic.
The chief executive reiterated that the health authorities should focus on providing booster shots for people under 50, instructing officials to swiftly decide whether to provide fourth shots for immunocompromised people.
On Monday, Korea's daily Covid-19 tally stayed below 4,000 for the fourth consecutive day.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed 3,007 new virus cases on Wednesday, including 2,768 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 667,390. Thirty-four more people died of Covid-19, lifting the death toll to 6,071, with a fatality rate of 0.91 percent.
Critically ill Covid-19 patients stayed below 1,000 for the seventh consecutive day after the KDCA confirmed 786 critically ill Covid-19 patients.
Amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant, the government extended the social distancing rules for two weeks through Jan. 16, including a four-person cap on private gatherings across the nation and a 9 p.m. business hour curfew on cafes and restaurants.
Health authorities have also introduced a six-month validity period for the vaccine pass required to enter restaurants, theaters, cram schools, and other indoor multipurpose facilities.
The government has added department stores, large discount store chains, large shopping malls, and large book stores to the subjected facilities, with a one-week grace period allowed for them until Jan. 16.
Starting next Monday, the government will slap fines of up to 1.5 million won ($1,250) on businesses if they fail to abide by the vaccine pass system.
The fine can go up to 3 million won for repeat violations, and the government may also order businesses to close on the fourth violation permanently.
Korea plans to bring in some of the 762,000 oral Covid-19 treatments that the government has contracted with Pfizer this week.
The government has vaccinated 44,359,506 people – 11,114,230 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 24,945,130 with Pfizer's vaccine, 1,510,743 with Janssen's vaccine, 6,788,374 with Moderna's vaccine – with the first shot of the vaccine up 1,029 from the previous day. In addition, it has provided more than 21 million booster shots to older adults and other vulnerable groups.
Some 83.9 percent of Koreans were fully vaccinated, 86.4 percent had received their first shots, and 41 percent had received booster shots.