Korea's daily Covid-19 cases continued to hover around 30,000 for the second consecutive day.
On Wednesday, Korea added 29,503 new Covid-19 infections, including 72 cases from abroad, bringing the total caseload to 25,194,177, according to the KDCA.
Wednesday's figure is down 3,745 from a day ago and more than 1,000 from a week ago.
Notably, as the number of confirmed cases per day since last Friday was higher than the previous week, health officials indicated that the eight-week decline has somewhat become stagnant.
Also, while last week's R0, or an estimated reproductive rate of how many people may contract the virus from one infected person, remained below one at 0.89, the figure has been on the rise for the past three consecutive weeks.
The nation also reported 43 more Covid-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 28,899. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 243, down four from the previous day.
"As the weather gets colder, the likelihood of a resurgence of Covid-19 is increasing," Kim Sung-ho, head of the interior ministry's disaster management office, said during a government COVID-19 response meeting. "The government will reorganize the medical response system to prevent the simultaneous outbreak of seasonal flu while also increasing quarantine measures for children."
As part of its plan, the government will focus on influenza vaccination for 4.39 million children between the ages of six months and 13 and preemptively prescribe antiviral drugs for children aged two weeks to nine years old.
Quarantine officials also decided to actively encourage booster vaccination of high-risk groups, including the elderly, and announce an inoculation plan using Pfizer's Omicron-adapted vaccine, which received emergency use approval on Monday, as soon as possible.
"In early December, the Korean people's immunity is expected to decrease significantly, so vaccination is urgent," Kim said. "Notably, vaccination for high-risk groups, including the elderly, is essential, and the government asks those included in the high-risk group to please actively participate in the current winter booster vaccination program."
Please follow the basic quarantine rules so that this winter can be the last of the Covid-19 epidemic, Kim added.
According to the KDCA, about 44.68 million among 52 million Koreans have been fully vaccinated. In addition, about 33.63 million people had received their first booster shots, and 7.5 million had their second booster shots.