
Just four months after fully shifting to an endemic approach to COVID-19, the government is now resuming its vaccination program to help contain the virus amid a resurgence in cases.
According to health authorities on Sunday, the number of patients hospitalized for the new COVID variant, KP.3, has increased sharply in many parts of Korea over the past several weeks, prompting officials to take necessary measures to minimize damage.
Data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) shows the number of people admitted to 220 hospitals nationwide for COVID-19 커뮤니티 jumped to 861 in the first week of August from 148 in the second week of July.
The total number of cases is unknown. But the agency said the results of its sampling showed that 39.2 percent of respiratory virus pathogens were COVID-19, up from 13.6 percent during that period, with the particular variant accounting for nearly half of all cases.