S. Korea expands rapid testing amid record COVID infections

South Korea has begun enforcing a new coronavirus testing policy centered on rapid testing as health officials reported a record number of new infections following the Lunar New Year holiday

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea on Thursday began enforcing a new coronavirus testing policy centered on rapid testing as health officials reported a record number of new infections following the Lunar New Year holiday.

The 22,907 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency marked a second straight day of over 20,000 new infections and about a five-fold increase from daily cases seen in mid-January, when the highly contagious omicron variant first became the country’s dominant strain.

Long lines snaked around testing stations in the capital Seoul and other major cities, where most people were provided rapid antigen test kits to use under the supervision of health workers, who then approved lab tests for anyone who tested positive.

Since the start of the pandemic, South Korea’s testing regime had centered on PCR lab tests, which are considered most accurate but require a large number of health workers to administer nasal and throat swabs, and high-tech machines to analyze samples.