Authorities: "COVID-19 Spread Rapid, Patient Age Increasing... Concern Over Rising Deaths" (Update)

Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, is briefing on the domestic occurrence status of COVID-19.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spreads nationwide, centered on the Seoul metropolitan area, five deaths occurred in just one day. Health authorities expressed concern that the number of deaths is likely to continue increasing due to the fast spread of infections and the high age range of confirmed cases.

On the 29th, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing, "The current outbreak in the Seoul metropolitan area involves many high-risk groups and is large in scale," adding, "It is a dangerous situation where there is little to no gap between the time of death and the time of confirmation, or even cases where the order is reversed, which is testing our epidemiological investigation capabilities."

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, there were a total of five deaths reported the previous day. By age group, there was one person in their 60s, one in their 70s, two in their 80s, and one in their 90s. By region, four were in Gyeonggi Province and one in Seoul. Among the five deceased, two were confirmed positive posthumously, and three died after receiving treatment following confirmation.

Deputy Director Kwon said, "The frequent occurrence of deaths is partly due to the overall large scale of cases but also due to the rapid increase in cases," adding, "This is somewhat similar to the explosive increase in cases in Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions in February and March, and the increase in the Seoul metropolitan area in August."

He further stated, "The high number of deaths and the high proportion of those aged 60 and above is a very concerning situation," adding, "This situation itself affects the scale of severe and critical patients."

As of this day, the total cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in South Korea stands at 321. The average fatality rate is only 1.65%, but it rises sharply with age: 21.1% for those aged 80 and above, 6.7% for those in their 70s, and 1.5% for those in their 60s. Among the deceased, 312 people (97.2%) had underlying conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.

From the 15th to the 28th of this month, a total of 16 deaths were reported in the past two weeks, with seven in their 80s, five in their 70s, three in their 90s, and one in their 60s. Fourteen of these had pre-existing conditions.

Deputy Director Kwon explained, "About one week to ten days after the onset of symptoms, patients progress to severe or critical conditions, and it generally takes about a month for the number of deaths to increase," adding, "Based on this analysis, we expect the trend to continue." Health authorities have administered the specially imported COVID-19 treatment drug 'Remdesivir' to a total of 155 severe and critical patients so far.

Meanwhile, as of 12 noon on the same day, 40 additional contacts of confirmed cases related to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul tested positive, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 1,018. This marks the first time in 17 days since the first confirmed case related to the church on the 12th that the number has exceeded 1,000. In the case related to the company Muhangu (九) Group in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, six more confirmed cases were reported compared to the previous day, bringing the total to 72. Regarding the Bitgaon Church in Nowon-gu, three more confirmed cases were added, bringing the cumulative total to 20.

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