Confirmed Cases Surpass 500, Death Toll Reaches 4... "Investigating COVID-19 Connection" (Update)

A COVID-19 confirmed patient hospitalized at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, is being transferred to Busan National University Hospital. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The number of deaths with symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) increased by 2 overnight in South Korea. As the number of confirmed cases surged past 500, related deaths have continued to occur.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 23rd at 9 a.m. that the number of deaths among confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 2. This result includes the situation from 4 p.m. on the 22nd through the night. The total number of deaths among confirmed cases, previously 2, has now risen to 4.

The fourth death reported on this day was patient number 54 (born in 1963, male), who was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 19th at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk Province. The health authorities are investigating the connection between this death and COVID-19. The first and second deaths were also patients hospitalized at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo.

On the previous night, a man in his 40s (born in 1979) was found dead at his home in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk Province, and tested positive for COVID-19 postmortem, thus being counted as a confirmed death. The authorities are also investigating the relationship between this man’s death and COVID-19.

Meanwhile, as of 9 a.m. on this day, the number of new confirmed cases in South Korea increased by 123 from the previous afternoon, reaching a total of 556. Among these, 75 additional patients were related to the Shincheonji Daegu Church cluster infection. The number of previously confirmed patients who have been declared recovered and released from isolation remained at 18.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.