SoKor COVID Cases Top 10M; Crematoria, Funeral Parlors Overwhelmed

South Korea's total coronavirus infections topped 10 million, or nearly 20% of its population, authorities said on Wednesday as surging severe cases and deaths increasingly put a strain on crematories and funeral homes nationwide, Hyunhee Shin reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Citizens in face masks walking down city streets in South Korea

The country has been battling a record COVID-19 wave driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant even as it largely scrapped its once aggressive tracing and quarantine efforts and eased social distancing curbs.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 490,881 cases for Tuesday, the second-highest daily tally after it peaked at 621,205 on March 16. The total caseload rose to 10,427,247, with 13,432 deaths, up 291 a day before.

The country's infection and death rates are still far below those recorded elsewhere, as almost 87% of its 52 million residents are fully vaccinated and 63% have received booster shots. But the death toll nearly doubled in just about six weeks, with daily fatalities peaking at 429 last Friday, fueling demand for funeral arrangements.

The health ministry on Monday instructed the 60 crematories nationwide to operate for longer hours to burn up to seven bodies from five, and the 1,136 funeral parlors capable of storing some 8,700 bodies to expand their facilities.

"Crematories' capacity is increasing," ministry official Son Young-rae said. "But there are still regional differences."

Authorities have already boosted the combined daily cremation capacity from about 1,000 to 1,400 per day starting last week. But a large backlog of bodies and a long wait continued to be reported in the densely populated greater Seoul area, Son said.

Health ministry data showed that the 28 crematories in Seoul city were operating at 114.2% capacity as of Monday, while the ratio stood at about 83% in other regions such as Sejong and Jeju.

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