South Korea’s daily virus jump exceeds 5,000 for first time

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s daily jump in coronavirus infections has exceeded 5,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as a delta-driven surge also pushed hospitalizations and deaths to record highs. Health experts have called for officials to reimpose stricter social distancing rules that were eased last month to soften the pandemic’s impact on the economy. Health workers are also conducting genetic sequencing tests on a couple who arrived from Nigeria to determine whether they have been infected with the new coronavirus variant omicron. South Korea has yet to confirm a case of omicron, which is seen as potentially more infectious than previous strains of the virus.