The share prices of Covid-19 diagnostic kit makers are rising amid concerns about the resurgence of the virus.
As of 11:10 a.m., Seegene was trading at 23,350 won ($18.36), up 8.86 percent from the previous trading day. Stocks of other diagnostic kit makers also rose, as shown by SD Biosensor (11,800 won, up 5.73 percent), Humasis (2,335 won, up 5.56 percent), and Sugentech (7,770 won, up 3.19 percent).
The rise in shares comes as the summer vacation raised worries about the resurgence of Covid-19.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the third week of July was 253,825, a 35.8 percent increase from the previous week.
Cases reached a six-month high of 47,029 on July 19, the largest since Jan. 11 when the nation reported 47,290 cases.
If the trend continues, the number of cases is expected to reach 50,000 soon, KDCA officials said.
An expert attributed the rise in cases to the relaxation of quarantine policies, such as removing the mask mandate and weakened immunity due to the emergence of repeated mutations.
Jung Jae-hun, a professor of infectious disease at Gachon University School of Medicine, recently wrote on his Facebook that the recent spread of the virus was a predicted epidemic.
"Mutations with characteristics that evade existing immunity continue to emerge, and even when herd immunity is formed, the effectiveness of infection prevention decreases over time," Jung wrote.
Jung also noted that the number of hidden infections is likely higher than the reported caseload, considering that people might have been less willing to get tested for Covid-19 after the relaxation of quarantine rules in June.
"The pandemic is bigger than it looks," Jung said. "The number of confirmed cases is at least as large as last winter."
Jung stressed that he expects 10-15 percent of the population to test positive again for the Covid-19 virus during this viral wave.
With the number of cases rising again, there are growing concerns about the government's second-phase plan to restore daily life announced last August, which aims at managing the Covid-19 epidemic like the flu.
Under the plan, vulnerable facilities will no longer require mandatory face masks, case counting will stop, and the government will not partially subsidize costs related to the testing and treatment of Covid-19.
Addressing such concerns, health authorities said they are closely monitoring the situation.
Officials said they would decide on the transition to the second phase of daily recovery after a comprehensive review of the latest domestic and international epidemic and epidemic prevention situation.
Besides, the government plans to vaccinate against Covid-19 with a new vaccine based on the Omicron XBB family variant in October.
It will provide the vaccine free of charge for the entire population.