National flu epidemic warning issued... "We need to hurry to get vaccinated."

As the number of influenza cases surged, the quarantine authorities decided to issue a flu epidemic warning across the country from tomorrow.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said yesterday that it made the decision after sharing the outbreak of respiratory infectious diseases and checking countermeasures at the second joint task force meeting of the ministry related to respiratory infectious diseases.

Medical-level influenza sample surveillance showed an increase in influenza cases in the last four weeks, exceeding the influenza epidemic standard of 8.6, with the number of influenza cases per 1,000 outpatients recorded at 1.36.

While the number of patients is increasing in all age groups, the number of cases was the highest, especially in those aged 13-18, followed by those aged 7-12 and 19-49.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the influenza epidemic in winter could grow further, and asked the elderly and immunocompromised people to hurry to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19.

He also emphasized that residents of facilities vulnerable to infection should be vaccinated quickly, and pregnant women and children should also be vaccinated against influenza.

The quarantine authorities plan to operate a joint task force with the medical community and related ministries and closely monitor the epidemic until the epidemic of respiratory infectious diseases stabilizes in the future.