South Korea reported 641 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Of these cases, 596 were reported locally.
According to the Ministry of Health, the country fought an outbreak at the Dongbu detention center in the capital, with at least 1,118 cases detected so far. The cluster was discovered in mid-December and officials said the 116.7% capacity prison facilities were overcrowded.
Hundreds of inmates have since been transferred to various facilities, and the ministry has stated that it will test every inmate in all of the country’s 52 detention centers.
However, officials also said the social detachment measures were working and that the latest wave of infections appears to have passed its peak.
President Moon Jae-in also said the government will begin vaccinations as early as next month, when it will “take a more aggressive response (to Covid-19) using vaccines and treatments.”