South Korea sees rise in Covid infections among children as summer wave spreads

Seoul: Amid rising Covid-19 cases in South Korea, infections in children have witnessed a jump this month, hospital data showed on Wednesday.

Data compiled by the Korea Children's Hospital Association from 42 paediatric hospitals showed that there were 1,080 children with Covid from August 5-9, compared with 387 between July 22 and 26, Yonhap news agency reported.

In particular, the number of children with Covid stood at 301 from August 5-9 in Chungcheong provinces, compared with 54 on July 22-26.

"Most Covid-19 paediatric patients are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which allows the virus to spread more easily," said Choi Yong-jae, the president of the association.

"As patients with heart disease or diabetes are considered high-risk, they must visit a hospital for additional testing and treatment if tested positive," he added.

The current wave is primarily led by KP.3, an Omicron subvariant that constituted 45.5 per cent of cases in South Korea last month and is also driving the summer wave elsewhere around the world.

Meanwhile, the health authorities on Tuesday noted that the ongoing wave of Covid is forecast to reach a peak around the end of August after the summer vacation season in South Korea.

As per the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country has seen a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with virus hospitalisations at 220 major medical institutions nationwide rising sixfold in a month to come to 861 as of the first week of August, Yonhap reported.

"The uptrend could peak around the end of August, as contacts among people will grow after the summer vacation and such changes could affect the infection trend," KDCA official Hong Jeong-il said.

To curb the spread, the KDCA has decided to expand the virus response team to enhance monitoring of the situation at home and abroad, analysis of infections, and the management of treatment and other medical supplies.

The government also plans to resume its vaccination campaign in October, where high-risk groups will be administered vaccines for free.