New COVID-19 Cases at 326... Maintaining 300s for Two Days Due to Holiday Impact (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Amid ongoing concerns about the resurgence of COVID-19, the number of new confirmed cases on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 14th, was recorded in the low 300s. This marks a slight decrease from the previous day, continuing the count in the 300s for two consecutive days.

However, the recent slowdown in the increase of confirmed cases appears partly due to a temporary reduction in testing during the Lunar New Year holiday (February 11?14), making it difficult to conclude that the spread has been completely curbed. With sporadic infections continuing nationwide, including the Seoul metropolitan area, there are concerns that the large-scale population movement and increased meetings among family, relatives, and acquaintances during this holiday could potentially ignite a new wave of infections.

Starting from the 15th, the government will lower the level of 'social distancing' by one step, applying Level 2 in the metropolitan area and Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas. Operating hours for restaurants and cafes will also be extended by one hour, from 9 PM to 10 PM. However, the ban on private gatherings of five or more people will remain in place, with exceptions made for immediate family members.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, 326 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 83,525. This is 36 fewer cases than the previous day (362 cases).

The domestic 'third wave' of infections, which began in mid-November last year, has continued for three months without being fully contained. Although the number of new cases, which once reached the 1,000s, significantly decreased at the start of the new year, the number has recently increased again due to successive cluster infections, showing signs of a possible resurgence.

Over the past week (February 8?14), the daily new confirmed cases were 288 → 303 → 444 → 504 → 403 → 362 → 326. During this period, there was one day in the 200s, three days in the 300s, two days in the 400s, and one day in the 500s.

Regarding the infection routes of new confirmed cases, 304 were locally transmitted and 22 were imported. The regions with confirmed cases include Seoul with 147, Gyeonggi with 77, and Incheon with 19, totaling 243 cases in the metropolitan area. The metropolitan area's locally transmitted cases remained in the 200s for the second consecutive day (257 cases the previous day), accounting for 79.9% of all local cases. In non-metropolitan areas, there were 12 cases in Busan, 11 in Chungnam, 6 in Gyeongnam, 5 each in Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonbuk, 4 in Gyeongbuk, 3 each in Daegu and Ulsan, 2 each in Gwangju, Daejeon, and Sejong, and 1 in Jeonnam, totaling 61 cases.

Major infection cases include a cluster of 37 confirmed cases among patients, staff, and family members at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with additional testing ongoing. Depending on test results, more cases may be confirmed. Additionally, related to two Mu-dojang (martial arts gyms) in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, the number of confirmed cases steadily increased to a total of 73 as of the previous day. New outbreaks were also reported at sports facilities in Guro-gu, Seoul (14 cumulative cases), Seongbuk-gu, Seoul (15 cases), and a family cluster in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province (10 cases). Furthermore, about ten Syrians who gathered for a family meeting in Yeoju-si recently tested positive, and health authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations.

There were 22 imported cases, five more than the previous day (17 cases). Among these, seven were identified during quarantine inspections at airports or ports. The remaining 15 tested positive while in self-quarantine at their residences or temporary living facilities in Seoul (5), Gyeonggi and Busan (3 each), and Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk (1 each). Combining local and imported cases (excluding quarantine), the metropolitan area accounted for 251 cases: Seoul 152, Gyeonggi 80, and Incheon 19. New cases were reported in 16 provinces nationwide, excluding Jeju.

The death toll increased by eight from the previous day, totaling 1,522, with a domestic average fatality rate of 1.82%. The number of critically ill patients decreased by one to 156. On the previous day, 24,749 tests were conducted at screening clinics, 2,781 more than the 21,968 tests conducted the day before. However, this is 15,236 fewer than the 39,985 tests conducted on the last weekday before the holiday, February 10. The positivity rate calculated from tests conducted the previous day was 1.32% (326 positive cases out of 24,749 tests), slightly down from 1.65% (362 positive cases out of 21,968 tests) the day before. As of midnight, the cumulative positivity rate stands at 1.36% (83,525 positive cases out of 6,140,086 tests).

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