South Korea announced 5,266 new COVID-19 cases for Wednesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported, a day after the daily tally rose above 5,000 for the first time.

South Korea will require a 10-day quarantine for all inbound travellers for two weeks starting Friday, halting exemptions given earlier to fully vaccinated people, the KDCA said.

The measure came after South Korea confirmed its first five cases of the Omicron variant late on Wednesday.

The government is restricting arrivals from eight countries including South Africa, where the variant was first identified. It will now add Nigeria to the list, effective Friday, while suspending direct flights from Ethiopia starting Saturday, the KDCA said.

Source: Emirates News Agency