South Korea recorded more than 8,000 new coronavirus infections for the first time on Tuesday, as health authorities redesign the national response to the pandemic to deal with the surge fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.

After three consecutive days with more than 7,000 confirmed cases, the Korea Agency for Disease Control and Prevention reported 8,571 new infections. with the variant omicron Spreading twice as fast as the delta mutation responsible for the most recent spike, experts say it could exceed 10,000 infections this week and possibly 20,000 before the Lunar New Year festivities, which begin this weekend and run until next Wednesday.

To prevent a sudden increase in infections from overwhelming hospitals and affecting workplaces and essential services, South Korea will reduce quarantine periods, expand the availability of diagnostic tests and provide medical care to more people in their residences. .

As of Wednesday, the quarantine periods for infected people with a complete vaccination record will be reduced from 10 to seven days. Fully vaccinated people who have close contact with a person carrying the virus will not be placed in quarantine. Authorities also plan to treat a large number of mild and moderate cases in the patient’s residence, as well as expand the use of rapid antigen tests to detect infections more quickly.

Omicron It has become the dominant variant in many countries and more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or who have already suffered from it. COVID-19. However, vaccination and booster doses still provide strong protection against serious illness, hospitalization, and death.

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