COVID-19 New Daily Cases Remain in 600s for Second Day...Critical Patients Surge (Update)

Central Disease Control Headquarters Domestic Status as of 0:00 on the 10th
646 Domestic Cases · 36 Overseas Cases... Severe and Critical Cases Increase by 23 in One Day

The government has decided to expand COVID-19 testing by setting up temporary screening clinics in about 150 areas in the metropolitan area where many young people gather over the next three weeks. On the 10th, a notice prohibiting entry of outsiders related to COVID-19 prevention was posted in front of Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 10th, the newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were recorded at 682. For two consecutive days, the number has approached 700. It has been about ten days since additional quarantine measures were implemented after raising social distancing to level 2 in the metropolitan area, but instead of the distancing effect, the spread has not subsided, deepening the concerns of the quarantine authorities. With a rapid increase in critically ill patients, the capacity for quarantine activities and patient treatment is nearing its limit.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters' report as of midnight on the same day, 646 of the new cases are estimated to be domestic infections, and 36 are imported cases. The daily new confirmed cases have exceeded 600 on five out of the past seven days. About 74% of the confirmed cases are from the metropolitan area, including Seoul.

Since the 1st of this month, social distancing in the metropolitan area was raised to level 2 with additional quarantine measures, but the spread continues even on the tenth day. When the level was raised to 1.5~2 last month, mobility decreased, but recently mobility has increased again, making quarantine efforts challenging.

Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare, left), is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City on the morning of the 10th.

The number of critically ill patients whose symptoms worsened after confirmation increased by 23 from the previous day to 172. The number of deaths was 8, higher than usual. The recent increase in critically ill patients is similar to the second wave when many elderly patients were affected. Although infections are spreading mainly among younger people, the overall scale of new confirmed cases has grown, and cluster infections in facilities housing vulnerable groups such as medical institutions and nursing homes have caused a rapid increase in critically ill patients.

Typically, the condition worsens within about ten days after confirmation, sometimes as early as five days. Since 500~600 new cases have been consistently reported this month, the number of critically ill patients is expected to increase further. Delays in bed allocation or diagnostic testing after confirmation also increase the likelihood of critically ill cases. Park Neung-hoo, the first head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said on the day, "Due to the rapid increase in confirmed cases, we are approaching a dangerous situation where the capacity of quarantine and medical systems may soon reach their limits."

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea surpassed 40,000 at 40,098, 324 days after the first patient was reported in January. About 90 countries, excluding South Korea, have reported more than 40,000 cumulative cases. The cumulative death toll rose to 564. The number of patients in isolation was recorded at 8,897, the highest ever.

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