South Korean President Apologizes for Failing to Contain Covid-19

jpnn.com, KOREA SELATAN - South Korean President Moon Jae-in apologized for his government's failure to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In a statement through the presidential spokesman, Moon also apologized for the government's failure to maintain adequate hospital beds during the previous easing of restrictions.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government on Thursday said it would tighten social restrictions again as the numbers of new cases and hospitalized Covid-19 patients rise.

The decision was taken a month and a half after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 7,622 new cases on Wednesday (15/12), a day after recording a daily record of 7,850 cases.

The number of severe patients reached a new record 989 cases. About 87 percent of intensive care rooms are filled with patients in the Seoul metropolitan area and about 81 percent across the country.

The daily number of cases broke the 7,000 mark for the first time last week, just days after crossing the 5,000 mark.

KDCA director Jeong Eun-kyeong said the daily figure could hit 10,000 this month if there were no changes in the handling of Covid-19.