New cases of Covid-19 could jump to 20,000 a day by the end of the month unless precautionary measures are taken seriously, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said on Monday.
The CCSA said that the current situation matches an earlier prediction made by the Public Health Ministry that daily cases may hit 20,000 by the end of this January, and 30,000 by the end of next month.
However, deaths are still low due to large numbers of people having now been vaccinated.
Some 5,397 cases of the Omicron variant had been confirmed in 71 provinces on Sunday.
The Delta strain accounts for the most infections (64.71%), followed by Omicron (35.17%).
However, from Jan 2-8, Omicron accounted for 70.3% of all infections, said the Department of Disease Control (DDC).
The Public Health Ministry agreed that most infections this month have been Omicron.
The ministry had previously come up with three possible scenarios for the Omicron variant.
In the best-case scenario, the country would see about 10,000 new infections, with fatalities hovering between 60-70 a day as early as late January.
The second scenario would see 15,000-16,000 new cases per day.
In the worst-case scenario, in which no added precautions are taken, or if the public refuses to comply with disease control measures, new infections could hit 30,000 daily, with 170-180 deaths per day.
According to the ministry, new infections would peak in late January or early February in the best and second-best scenarios.
At best, the outbreak would be brought under control in one or two months.
In the bleakest forecast, new infections would not peak until early March and it would then take a further three to four months for health authorities to control the situation, according to the ministry.
