South Korea reported 641 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, according to the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Of these cases, 596 were transmitted locally.
The country is battling an outbreak at the capital’s Dongbu Detention Center, with at least 1,118 cases detected so far, according to the Ministry of Health. The cluster was detected in mid-December, and officials said the prison facilities were overcrowded. with 116.7% of capacity.
Since then, hundreds of prisoners have been transferred to different facilities, and the ministry has declared that it will test all prisoners at all 52 detention facilities in the country.
However, officials also said that the country’s social detachment measures are working and that the latest wave of infections appears to have passed its peak.
President Moon Jae-in also said that the government will start vaccinations as early as next month, when “it will have a more aggressive response (to Covid-19) using vaccines and treatments”.