324 New Confirmed Cases... Largest Since 'Shincheonji' Outbreak (Comprehensive)

Cases Occur in 16 Cities and Provinces Nationwide Except Jeju
Daily Cases Return to 300s After 166 Days

On the 21st, a COVID-19 case was confirmed at the LG Electronics R&D Campus in Seocho-gu, Seoul, leading to restricted access to the workplace. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Cho Hyun-ui] On the 21st, the newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were counted at 324. This is the first time in over five months that the daily confirmed cases have exceeded 300 since the outbreak centered around the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas last March.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, there were 315 domestic cases. The Seoul metropolitan area, where a church cluster infection emerged, accounted for a significant portion with 244 cases, including 125 in Seoul alone, but there were also many cases outside the metropolitan area with 71 cases. New cases were reported in all 16 cities and provinces nationwide except Jeju, including 11 cases in Chungnam. This is why the health authorities consider this the early stage of a nationwide outbreak. There were 9 new imported cases.

The daily new confirmed cases exceeded 300 for the first time in 166 days since March 8 (367 cases). At that time, hundreds of cases were reported for about three weeks due to the Shincheonji cluster infection, and the recent situation is also serious. Since the cluster infection originating from Sarang Jeil Church emerged, there have been eight consecutive days of over 100 cases since the 14th, with a cumulative total of 1,900 cases during this period. Although the scale was large during the Shincheonji incident, it was an infection within a single group, whereas recently, the number of clusters with unclear links has greatly increased, and the scope of contact tracing has expanded nationwide, causing difficulties for the health authorities.

With a significant increase in the number of diagnostic tests, 20,040 tests were conducted in one day yesterday. It is rare for daily diagnostic tests to exceed 20,000. Two COVID-19 patients died the previous day, raising the total death toll to 309. The number of severe and critical patients also increased by 6 in one day, reaching 18. This is interpreted as due to the increase in new confirmed cases centered around churches.

The number of patients in isolation and under treatment increased by 265 to 2,241. The number had decreased to the 600s in mid-month but is now rapidly increasing again. Since cases have surged mainly in specific areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi, and with the start of the resident doctors' strike from this day, concerns about shortages of hospital beds and medical staff are rising, prompting health authorities to remain vigilant.

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