South Korea's COVID-19 cases top 20M

ANKARA

South Korea surpassed a grim milestone of 20 million coronavirus cases on Wednesday after the country registered nearly 120,000 new infections, according to official figures.

The East Asian nation reported 119,922 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, bringing the total caseload to 20.05 million, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

A day earlier South Korea registered 111,789 cases, a sharp rise from 44,689 cases reported on Monday.

The disease agency attributed the surge, which started in late June, to the omicron subvariant BA.5.

The daily count climbed to over 10,000 on June 29 for the first time, before doubling by July 9 and hitting 100,000 last week.

Health authorities warned that the current wave could peak at around 200,000 infections per day, according to the agency.

There were also 26 more virus-related fatalities in South Korea over the past day, raising the overall death toll to 25,110.

The government has recommended the fourth vaccine dose for people aged 50 and older, as well as all adults with underlying health conditions.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid