COVID-19 New Cases 346... Over 300 Cases for the First Time in a Week

On the 22nd, many citizens were lined up at a COVID-19 testing site at a hospital in Geoje, Geoje-si, Gyeongnam, ignoring social distancing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has dropped to the 300s for the first time in a week.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 23rd at midnight that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 346 from the previous day to 99,421.

The sources of infection for the new confirmed cases were 331 local transmissions and 15 imported cases.

About 70% of the locally transmitted cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 97 cases (29.3%) in Seoul, 120 cases (36.3%) in Gyeonggi Province, and 12 cases (3.6%) in Incheon, totaling 229 cases in the metropolitan area, accounting for 69.2% of all confirmed cases.

In other regions, cluster infections related to bathhouses in Jinju City continued, with Gyeongnam Province reporting the highest number of cases at 29. Other regions reported the following new cases: 19 in Gyeongbuk, 12 in Incheon, 9 in Gangwon, 8 in Busan, 8 in Ulsan, 7 in Chungnam, 7 in Jeonbuk, 6 in Chungbuk, 4 in Daejeon, 3 in Daegu, 1 in Gwangju, and 1 in Jeonnam. No new cases were reported in Sejong and Jeju.

There were 15 imported cases. Among them, 8 were detected during quarantine, and 7 were confirmed in the community. Ten were Korean nationals, and five were foreigners.

The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 91,079, an increase of 468 from the previous day. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 2 to 101. The death toll rose by 7 to 1,704.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 79,747. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 34,721 tests were conducted, confirming 37 new cases.

President Moon Jae-in is receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Jongno-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the morning of the 23rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 2,704 people received additional COVID-19 vaccinations, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 680,560. The vaccination rate stands at 84.8%. Among them, 622,437 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 58,123 received the Pfizer vaccine.

There were 101 new reports of suspected adverse reactions, bringing the total to 9,804 cases. Among the new reports, 100 were mild symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and one was a severe suspected case involving convulsions.

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