More than 10 million people in South Korea have contracted coronavirus as a surge in the highly infectious Omicron variant has caused a record wave of infections, officials have said.

The number of dead has almost doubled since early February, leaving funeral homes and crematoriums struggling to cope.

The Korean Disease Control Agency (KDCA) reported 490,881 cases for Tuesday, the second highest daily tally after it peaked at 621,205 on 16 March.

In all 291 people were reported dead after contracting the illness over the last 24 hours, after daily deaths peaked at 429 last Friday.

At least 13,432 people have died since the pandemic began, from a total of 10,427,247 cases, the KDCA said.

Nearly a fifth of the country’s population of 52 million has now had or is battling the disease, according to the latest figures.

South Korea reacted to the initial outbreak with a strict regime of tracing and quarantine, but with 87% of its population fully vaccinated, they have been scrapped by Seoul, along with social distancing curbs.

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Booster shots have been administered to 63% of the country.

Ministers have told the country’s 60 crematoriums to open longer and burn seven bodies a day, up from five.

The 1,136 funeral homes, which can hold around 8,700 bodies, have been instructed to expand their facilities.

Health ministry official Son Young-rae said: “Crematories’ capacity is increasing, but there are still regional differences.”

The number of bodies that can be disposed of daily was raised to 1,400 from 1,000 last week, but there is a big backlog and in the densely populated greater Seoul area, long waits are common, Mr Son said.

The percentage of intensive care beds occupied rose to around 64% on Wednesday, up from 59% two weeks earlier.

Merck & Co’s COVID-19 treatment pill, Lagevrio, has been given emergency approval by South Korea’s drug safety agency, as authorities move to combat the surge.

Pfizer’s highly effective Paxlovid is already being used.

Health ministry official Park Hyang said on Wednesday: “The medical system is under substantial pressure, though it is still operated within a manageable range.

“We would focus more on high risk groups going forward, and make constant checks to ensure that there is no blind spot.”

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