KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — South Korea has reported a rise in the number of Covid-19 hospitalisation, which looks set to increase in the third week of August, though at a slower rate than in previous weeks, according to data released Thursday.
As reported by The Korean Herald, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said from August 11 to August 17, 1,464 new patients were admitted to hospitals, up 7.2 per cent from the 1,366 new admissions the week before. This data reflects hospitalisations at 220 facilities equipped for in-patient care.
Infections have been climbing steadily throughout August, with new cases in the second week of the month showing a 55.2 percent increase from the 880 reported the previous week, which had nearly doubled from 474 in the final week of July. Despite this surge, Covid-19 infections are anticipated to peak soon.
Based on the trend, KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee told The Korean Herald the agency expects infections to start declining soon. She also noted that the total number of cases for this week is likely to fall short of the previously projected 350,000.
In response to the increasing number of Covid cases, the government has secured an additional 260,000 doses of medication and issued new guidelines for schools ahead of the upcoming semester.
These guidelines include provisions for students to take leave if they exhibit severe symptoms, with such absences not being counted as truancy.
