SEOUL: South Korean health authorities said on Friday that they plan to supply treatments for 260,000 COVID-19 patients, as the nation experienced a surge in cases due to a summer wave.
“We have started contacting global pharmaceutical companies after recognising that treatments are being used more widely than before, and the supply will start this week,“ said Park Ji-young, a senior official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap News Agency reported.
The KDCA added that it will have treatments available nationwide by the end of this month and will begin administering vaccines effective against KP.3, an omicron subvariant which made up 45.5 per cent of cases in South Korea last month.
The number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, meanwhile, had come to 1,357 as of the second week of August, marking the highest level this year.
The KDCA said the current wave of COVID-19, however, does not show a significant rise in the rate of critically ill patients or fatalities compared with previous waves.
The fatality rate of COVID-19 patients has remained at 0.1 per cent since 2022, with the rate hovering below 0.01 per cent for those aged 50 and below, which is similar to or lower than that of the seasonal flu.
The KDCA, meanwhile, said it is not currently considering mandating the use of facial masks at this stage.
“Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases, we have upgraded the recommendation to a strong advisory. While there won’t be any penalties for not wearing a mask, we strongly encourage public cooperation,“ another KDCA official said. – Bernama, Yonhap
