South Korean COVID-19 infections top 10 million

South Korean health officials said on Wednesday that total COVID-19 infections in the country since the beginning of the pandemic have exceeded 10 million amid a surge in severe cases and deaths, Reuters reported. 

South Korea’s total caseload as of Tuesday was 10,427,247, with a virus-related death toll of 13,432, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), per Reuters.

On Tuesday alone, the KDCA reported 490,881 new COVID-19 cases and 291 new virus-related deaths, marking the highest daily case total since March 16, when virus cases peaked at 621,205, according to the wire service.

The rise in COVID-19-related deaths is putting strain on South Korea’s crematories and funeral parlors, Reuters reported.

On Monday, the country’s health ministry directed 1,136 funeral parlors with the storage capacity to hold roughly 8,700 bodies to expand their facilities, according to the wire service. The same day, it instructed 60 crematories across the nation to extend their hours of operation in order to cremate more bodies per day.

Health ministry official Son Young-rae noted that authorities previously increased crematories’ daily capacities, but said that the greater Seoul area has continued to see long wait times and a large backlog of bodies, per Reuters.

“Crematories’ capacity is increasing,” Son said. “But there are still regional differences.”

Son added that crematories will be temporarily permitted to receive reservations from outside their regions to alleviate the body pileup, according to Reuters. They were previously barred from doing so by some local governments in the country. 

This comes as the country has been battling a recent wave of COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant, though authorities have lifted some virus restrictions and eased up on contact tracing, quarantine and social distancing initiatives, Reuters reported. 

Amid the surge, South Korea’s drug agency has granted emergency approval for the use of Merck & Co Inc.’s COVID-19 treatment pill for adults, branded as Lagevrio, after previously doing the same for Pfizer’s oral Paxlovid treatment, according to the wire service.

The first shipment of Lagevrio, which will be only prescribed to non-pregnant patients 18 years or older, is expected to arrive on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing the South Korean health ministry.