Covid-19 infections spike fivefold in a month

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported that Covid-19 cases jumped from 63 through June to 465 through July.

Hong Jeong-ik, director of infectious disease policy at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, speaks during a press conference at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The number of people in Korea who have been admitted to hospital for Covid-19 has increased fivefold over the past four weeks, according to recent data released by the country's health authorities.

In a press conference at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday, Hong Jeong-ik, director of infectious disease policy at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), urged members of the public to take safety precautions in light of rising cases of not only new Covid-19 strains, but also of whooping cough, mycoplasma pneumonia and hand, foot and mouth disease.

According to data released by the KDCA, the number of people hospitalized for Covid-19 per week rose steadily from 63 in the fourth week of June to 465 in the fourth week of July.

The proportion of Covid-19 tests carried out at public health centers that have yielded positive results has also increased from 7.4 percent in the fourth week of June to 24.6 percent in the third week of July, indicating that a higher share of people who present symptoms have been infected with the virus.

According to the KDCA, 39.8 percent of people who have tested positive were found to have been infected by the KP.3 subvariant, which a month ago accounted for 12.1 percent of coronavirus infections.

KP.3 is a mutation of the JN.1 subvariant, which was the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Korea and much of the world in the first half of the year.

Tests show that the KP.3 subvariant has largely displaced JN.1 in Korea, with the latter now accounting only for 19.5 percent of Covid-19 infections in the third week of July compared to 59.3 percent of all infections in June.

Hong announced that the government plans to roll out a new vaccination program in October targeting people over the age of 65 to boost their immunity to both subvariants as well as the older KP.2 subvariant.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]