South Korea has ordered hospitals to secure beds for critical Covid-19 patients, Yonhap news agency said, as a third wave surge of infections raised concerns about a shortage of beds in a country that has kept fatalities low so far.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 1,053 infections of the new coronavirus, a record fourth consecutive day of more than 1,000 cases.

South Korea has recorded 659 Covid-19 deaths out of 48,570 infections, a comparatively low mortality rate attributed to aggressive tracing and testing, which minimised the strain on hospitals, allowing them to focus on seriously ill patients.

But the recent surge — stemming from widespread clusters across the country rather than the large, isolated outbreaks of the first two waves — has caused a severe shortage of hospital beds.