A disposable syringe with a needle (GettyImages)

The number of patients hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 surged fivefold in three weeks to late July, government data showed Friday.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the fourth week of July reached 465, up over five times from the first week of the month at 91.

Through the first four weeks of July, 929 patients were hospitalized for the highly contagious disease affecting the human respiratory system, data showed.

A senior official of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that South Korea will resume COVID-19 vaccinations for those aged 65 and above in October.

South Korea transitioned from pandemic to endemic status in May 2023, lifting indoor mask mandates in most places after over three years of the state of emergency.

The COVID-19 disease claimed the lives of 35,934 people in the country from January 2020 to August 2023, as over 34.5 million people were infected during the same period, in a country home to some 51 million.