Global COVID-19 Cases Increase by 10 Million in Just 21 Days

Since the first WHO report, it took 6 months to reach 10 million confirmed cases, but the time to increase by each additional 10 million shortened to 44, 38, and 32 days respectively, and after reaching 40 million on the 18th of last month, it increased by 10 million in just 21 days

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases worldwide surpassed 50 million over the past weekend (according to the international statistics site Worldometer as of the 8th).

The problem is that the rate of increase in confirmed cases is becoming very steep.

While it took six months for the cumulative confirmed cases to reach 10 million after the first report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the periods for each subsequent increase of 10 million cases shortened to 44 days, 38 days, and 32 days respectively, with the total reaching 40 million on the 18th of last month and increasing by another 10 million in just 21 days.

Experts have warned that a "virus tsunami" will hit the Northern Hemisphere as winter approaches, a season when the virus becomes more active.

After the U.S. presidential election on the 3rd, COVID-19 cases in the United States have been snowballing. As of the 9th, the cumulative confirmed cases reached 10.26 million with 240,000 deaths, and Bloomberg reported that the daily new cases hit a record high again at 126,000 on that day.

The University of Washington research institute projected that by the end of January next year, at least 372,030 more COVID-19 deaths will occur in the U.S. Brazil, which ranks third in damage after the U.S. and India, has surpassed 5.66 million cumulative confirmed cases, and other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico have each reached 1 million cumulative confirmed cases.

France, which declared a state of emergency and movement restrictions on the 17th of last month, has not seen significant effects even after more than three weeks.

Russia has surpassed 20,000 new daily confirmed cases for three consecutive days, ranking fourth worldwide in cumulative confirmed cases. Japan's cumulative confirmed cases increased to 108,261 mainly centered around Tokyo, with a total of 1,830 deaths recorded.

In South Korea, sporadic infections continue in daily life, maintaining around 100 cases daily. According to health authorities, the average daily new domestic cases over the past week were 88.7, with 65.4 in the metropolitan area steadily increasing. Cases among those aged 60 and over also rose by 3.1 from 22.7 to 25.8.

The government warned that if this upward trend continues, the "social distancing" level will be raised.

Meanwhile, regarding the specimen testing currently underway targeting about 11,000 academy instructors in Gangnam-gu, as of the 9th, 7,105 instructors have completed testing, and three asymptomatic confirmed cases have been identified so far.

Since the 19th of last month, Gangnam-gu has repeatedly requested academy instructors to undergo specimen testing, but one-third have yet to be tested.

They urged instructors who have not yet been tested to visit the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center as soon as possible for testing to protect not only students preparing for the college entrance exam but also their own and their families' health and safety.

One student from another region attending an academy in Daechi-dong was confirmed positive the day before, but no connection with the academy instructors has been confirmed.

Status of Confirmed Cases

One additional confirmed case was reported in Gangnam-gu on this day, bringing the cumulative total to 381. Case number 381 was confirmed on the day after arriving from overseas on the 8th with no symptoms, following specimen testing at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center.

Status of Self-Quarantine

As of the 10th, Gangnam-gu is managing 944 individuals in self-quarantine, including 708 overseas arrivals and 236 domestic contacts.

Number of Specimen Tests

The cumulative number of specimen tests conducted at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center screening clinic is 75,928. Of the 379 tests conducted the previous day, 71 were overseas arrivals and 308 were domestic residents.

According to Seoul city’s announcement, new confirmed cases in the first week of November (1st to 7th) totaled 270, averaging 38.6 cases per day, an increase from the previous week's 35.6. Among cluster outbreaks, those related to multi-use facilities were the highest at 170 cases. Also, as the proportion of community infections increased, it was observed that when a confirmed case appears, additional cases among acquaintances or family members follow the next day.

With the implementation of the new "social distancing" measures, Seoul city changed the "gathering ban" on multi-level marketing and door-to-door sales to a "gathering restriction," allowing special sales businesses in the city to resume operations after five months. However, businesses must comply with strengthened quarantine rules and submit a pledge to that effect.

Gangnam-gu plans to intensively monitor 200 door-to-door sales businesses in the district until the 13th to ensure compliance with the gathering restriction order.

Meanwhile, Gangnam-gu is providing up to 4 million KRW in store reopening support funds per business to alleviate difficulties faced by small business owners who had to temporarily close due to visits by confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The support targets businesses that temporarily closed their stores between August 1 and December 31 based on quarantine dates and have fewer than five regular employees (ten for construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries).

It was found that 597 businesses in August and 517 in September within the district temporarily closed due to confirmed case movements.

The application period is until December 31, and eligible business representatives are encouraged to refer to the Gangnam-gu office website for submission.

The government announced today the legislative notice of amendments to the "Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act," which include suspension orders for facilities violating quarantine rules such as mask-wearing.

Since several cases have confirmed that mask-wearing prevented large-scale transmission, the public is once again urged to wear masks on public transportation and in multi-use facilities.

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