A Korean doctor claimed that people who haven’t had COVID yet probably don’t have friends.

Ma Sang-hyuk wrote on Facebook last week that “adults who have not yet been infected with COVID-19 are those who have interpersonal problems”, according to Korean press.

The vice president of the Korean Vaccine Society reportedly deleted the post after it was widely circulated, triggering criticism online.

Read more on COVID:
South Korea crematoriums and funeral homes struggle to cope
Cases in UK soar by around a million in a week
Father in coma with COVID wakes up to find his wife had died

Days later the doctors said to the news site Daily his Facebook comments were meant to be “metaphorical” and that there was a misunderstanding.

In an interview, he said: “It emphasized how difficult it is for anyone to avoid the virus in a situation where there is a high rate of confirmed cases in the area.”

South Korea had 400,741 new COVID cases on 16 March, the day the doctor posted his comments.

COVID-19: 600,000 people to be invited for spring booster jabs next week

COVID: Father-of-two in coma with virus describes ‘journey from hell’ after waking up to find his wife had died

COVID-19 cases in UK soar by around a million in a week, data from ONS shows

On Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the Omicron variant is driving the record wave of infections.

The country is set to remove almost all of its social distancing restrictions in the coming weeks.

Related posts:

‘Incredibly poignant moment’: Painting by Churchill and owned by Angelina Jolie is sold at auction France approves Oxford COVID jab for over-65s in vaccine U-turn Austria and Denmark to partner with Israel on COVID vaccines and stop relying on ‘too slow’ EU Hundreds arrested, murder plots thwarted and drugs seized after criminals duped into using app monitored by police President of Haiti assassinated at home, country’s interim PM says Four ‘mercenaries’ who assassinated Haiti’s president killed in gun battle, police say Russia sends actress and director to International Space Station to make first movie in space First malaria vaccine could be rolled out to billions as WHO experts give approval In some ways Greta Thunberg is wrong to call COP26 a ‘failure’ and ‘PR event’ ‘Horrendous loss of life’: At least 92 people killed in Sierra Leone oil tanker explosion ‘You’re taking us all for fools’: Confusion over video of woman chained in hut stirs anger in China Offers to house Ukrainians in Warsaw ‘drying up’ as refugees struggle to find a place to sleep