With a cold snap gripping the nation, the number of people suffering from cold-related illnesses such as hypothermia and frostbite jumped over 60 percent this winter.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), as of January 27, 345 cases of cold-induced illnesses were reported nationwide since December 1, including eleven deaths.

It marks a sharp rise of 65-point-nine percent from the 208 cases logged in the same period a year earlier.

Every year, between December 1 and February 28 of the following year, the KDCA, along with medical facilities running ERs and neighborhood public health facilities, tracks emergency responses to reports of cold-related illnesses.

In the midst of a protracted cold spell, the number of cases documented so far this winter has already surpassed the 300 reported in the previous year.