Gyeonggi-do Reports 'Record High' 331 New COVID-19 Cases Yesterday... Hospital Beds Also in Short Supply

The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) approached the 700 mark for three consecutive days. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 11th, 689 new domestic cases were reported. The 689 cases announced on this day represent the highest number in 286 days since the 909 cases recorded during the first major outbreak centered in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, making it the second-largest number ever recorded. The photo shows medical staff in the negative pressure isolation ward at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the same day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] As the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) nationwide exceeded 1,000, Gyeonggi-do also recorded over 300 cases in a single day for the first time.

Gyeonggi-do announced that 331 new COVID-19 cases were reported the previous day, bringing the cumulative total to 9,738 as of midnight on the 13th. Among the new cases, 328 were locally transmitted and 3 were imported.

This is the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 that daily confirmed cases in Gyeonggi-do have exceeded 300. The previous highest record of 272 cases was surpassed in just one day.

The number of new cases had remained in the 100s for seven consecutive days from the 1st to the 7th of this month, then rose to the 200s from the 8th to the 11th, before soaring to the 300s within four days.

As of midnight on the 13th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases waiting at home was counted at 285. The utilization rate of COVID-19 treatment beds in the province worsened to 90.6% (645 out of 712 beds in use), up from 90.3% the previous day.

There is also no spare capacity in intensive care unit beds. As on the previous day, 47 out of 49 beds are occupied, leaving only 2 available. This has been maintained at about 2 to 3 beds per day recently.

The utilization rate of five residential treatment centers with a total capacity of 1,388 beds rose by 2.2 percentage points from the previous day to 76.6%. There are 400 treatment center beds remaining.

Regarding the main infection routes of the new cases reported the previous day, 30 people were confirmed positive related to a religious facility in Pocheon. These infections were identified through mass testing conducted after two residents living at the facility were confirmed positive on the 11th.

In Bucheon, 26 additional confirmed cases were linked to a cluster infection at a nursing hospital, increasing the total related cases in the province to 66.

At a nursing hospital in Ansan, 7 more cases were confirmed, bringing the total related cases in the province to 16. Additionally, 3 cases related to a religious facility in Anyang (cumulative 33), 2 cases related to a dance academy in Gangseo-gu, Seoul (cumulative 32), 10 cases related to a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul (cumulative 80), and 4 cases related to a university hospital in Bucheon (cumulative 34) were newly confirmed.

Small-scale secondary infection cases not classified as cluster infections accounted for 160 cases (48.3%). There were also 79 cases (23.9%) with unknown infection routes. One additional COVID-19 related death was reported in the province, bringing the total to 135.

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