Terrifyingly Breached '20,000 People'

225 Days Since the First COVID-19 Patient Case

On the 1st, when the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients exceeded 20,000, a banner with the phrase "The virus cannot defeat us" was hung on the outer wall of the COVID-19 Safe Clinic inside the Nuclear Hospital in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Kim Heung-soon] The cumulative number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea surpassed 20,000 on the 1st. It has been 225 days since the first patient was reported in late January. Since mid-last month, over 5,400 people have been confirmed positive in just over two weeks, with cases rapidly increasing recently, especially in the Seoul metropolitan area, and the number of severe and critical patients has also exceeded 100.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, 235 new cases were recorded, including 13 suspected to be imported from overseas. This marks 19 consecutive days of triple-digit new cases since the 14th of last month. The number of new confirmed cases peaked at 441 on the 27th of last month and has been declining for five consecutive days. Among the new cases reported today, 179 (76%) occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area alone.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases has risen to 20,182. In South Korea, after the first COVID-19 patient was confirmed on January 20, a large-scale outbreak centered around the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas occurred around mid-February, followed by various cluster infections nationwide. It took 74 days from the first confirmed case to reach 10,000 cumulative cases. It then took 134 days for an additional 5,000 cases to be added, but subsequently, another 5,000 cases were added in just 17 days.

Recently, infections have spread mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the domestic population resides, and the proportion of middle-aged and elderly patients is higher compared to previous outbreaks. The health authorities have assessed the recent spread as more dangerous than at any previous time. The cumulative confirmed cases in the Seoul metropolitan area stand at 8,024, accounting for 39.8% of the total. As of today, the number of severe and critical patients confirmed is 104, an increase of 25 in just one day. There are currently 4,660 patients in isolation and treatment, and the cumulative death toll is 324.

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