People in Seoul brace the cold to get tested for COVID-19. [Photo: Newsis]
The daily number of new COVID-19 infections in South Korea hit a fresh high Thursday, surpassing 90,000 for the second straight day.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said it confirmed 93,045 local transmissions and 90 imported from abroad for a total caseload of 1,645,978.
Fueled by the Omicron variant, there are concerns the daily case count could exceed 100,000 in the days to come and hit 170,000 a day by the end of the month.
Critically ill coronavirus patients in ICUs also rose by 76 to 389 while 36 additional people succumbed to the disease, raising the death toll to 7,238.
Despite the explosive surge in infections, the government is discussing the possibility of easing social distancing rules due to its impact on small businesses.
Currently, up to six people can come together for private social gatherings and multiuse facilities such as restaurants and cafes can stay open until 9 p.m.
An announcement on possible adjustments to antivirus curbs is expected on Friday.
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