Rising Trend of Imported COVID-19 Cases Raises Alarm

20% of 64 New Domestic Cases Detected at Airport Quarantine
US Sees Nearly 10,000 New Cases in a Day

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Kim Heung-soon] The total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) worldwide has surpassed 330,000. While thousands of new cases have been reported in major European countries such as Italy and Spain, the United States, which has expanded diagnostic testing, saw nearly 10,000 new cases in a single day. In South Korea, the increase has slowed with 64 new cases added, but the proportion of imported cases is rising, making urgent countermeasures necessary.

According to data from Worldometer, a site showing real-time global COVID-19 status, as of 11 a.m. on the 23rd, the total number of cases worldwide reached 337,042, an increase of more than 32,000 from the previous day. The increase in the US is steep. The total confirmed cases reached 33,546, up by 9,339 from the previous day. This is the highest number of new cases among individual countries. Italy recorded 5,560 new cases, totaling 59,138, while Spain added 3,272 new cases, reaching 28,768. In terms of total cumulative confirmed cases, China leads with 81,093, followed by Italy with 59,138, and then the US.

As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rapidly spreads in the United States, on the 21st (local time), there are almost no people visible on Broadway, the busiest street in Manhattan, New York.<이미지:Yonhap News>

The US, similar to South Korea, confirmed its first case on January 21 (local time), and although the initial increase was slow, it has recently surged. In New York State, about 5,400 people were confirmed positive on this day following approximately 1,900 the previous day, and major states such as New Jersey, California, and Florida are reporting hundreds of new cases daily.

In South Korea, as of midnight on this day, 64 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total cumulative cases to 8,961. As the spread intensifies worldwide, 13 of the new cases, accounting for 20%, were detected during airport quarantine. Even if symptoms are not detected during quarantine, the proportion of imported cases is increasing as people test positive after returning from overseas with a time lag. The total number of confirmed imported cases reached 144, an increase of 21 from the previous day. The number of patients released from isolation increased by 257 from the previous day, totaling 3,166 recovered patients.

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