"99% of Confirmed Cases Under 50 Recover Without Oxygen Therapy"

On the 21st, when the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is decreasing, medical staff are working at the screening clinic of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced that as of midnight on the day, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases increased by 9 compared to midnight the previous day. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] A clinical analysis has revealed that most COVID-19 patients under the age of 50 in South Korea recovered without requiring oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.

The research team from the Central Clinical Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases at the National Medical Center observed the clinical progress of 3,060 COVID-19 patients admitted to 55 hospitals nationwide from the first reported case on January 20 to May 31 this year, confirming this fact on the 3rd.

The study results were published in the international journal 'JKMS' (Journal of Korean Medical Science), issued by the Korean Medical Association.

According to the research team, the prognosis of COVID-19 patients varied depending on age and initial severity at admission. In particular, the severity at admission increased with age.

Among patients under 50, only 1.2% required oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation 14 days after symptom onset. In contrast, 17.3% of patients aged 50 and above needed oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.

A similar pattern was observed 28 days after symptom onset. Among COVID-19 patients under 50, 1.5% required oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation, while 13.2% of those aged 50 and above needed such treatments.

Initial severity also affected prognosis. Among patients who required oxygen therapy at admission, 71.5% recovered and 7.7% died by 28 days after symptom onset. Patients who needed mechanical ventilation had only a 19.5% recovery rate at 28 days, with 22.2% of them dying.

When looking at the fatality rate 28 days after symptom onset, no deaths were reported among COVID-19 patients under 50. However, among those aged 50 and above, the fatality rate increased with age: 0.5% for ages 50?59, 0.9% for 60?69, 5.8% for 70?79, and 14.0% for those 80 and older.

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