S. Korea reports 282,987 new COVID-19 cases on Friday

신규확진 28만2987명…어제 사망 229명, 또 역대 최다... 14일부터 전문가 신속항원검사로 확진판정 South Korea has seen a slight dip in the number of COVID-19 cases on Friday,... with cases under the 300-thousand mark. Earlier in the day, the government announced adjustments to the medical system,.. to make sure it can handle a growing number of severe cases. Choi Min-jung reports. South Korea on Friday reported 282-thousand 9-hundred 87 new COVID-19 cases. It's a drop from the previous day,... but this could be due to fewer tests being done on presidential Election Day on Wednesday. There are currently more than 11-hundred people in critical condition,.. and there has been another record high of 2-hundred 29 additional deaths. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Friday said the Omicron wave will hit its peak within the next few days,.... with daily cases reaching as high as 370-thousand. The Prime Minister also announced changes to the current COVID-19 testing process. "From next week,... officials will approve rapid antigen tests results provided by professionals as being official,.. even without results from PCR tests. Literally, it will be a rapid test, which will allow us to preemptively prevent further infections." Health officials have said PCR test results are positive 90 to 95-percent of the time, when they follow a positive rapid antigen test. This only applies to rapid antigen tests carried out by medical experts at hospitals,.. and not the self-test kits done by people at home. Authorities say there are more benefits to this simplified testing measure,... as currently,... people are required to take PCR tests after testing positive through a rapid antigen test,... which causes delays in medicine prescription and treatment. The government has also decided to allow patients, already in hospital, who have mild COVID-19 symptoms,.... to be treated where they are in regular wards,... starting next week. This way,... hospital beds can be used more efficiently for COVID-19 patients who are in desperate need of medical treatment. Choi Min-jung, Arirang News. #COVID19 #Coronavirus #SouthKorea 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2022-03-11, 12:00 (KST)