COVID-19 New Cases 666, Back to 600s... Social Distancing Extended for 3 Weeks

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] On the 22nd, the number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea recorded 666. This is an increase of more than 100 cases compared to the previous day, rising back to the 600s in just one day. The government has extended the current 'social distancing measures (Level 2 in the metropolitan area, Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas)' and the ban on private gatherings of five or more people for three more weeks until the 13th of next month.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on this day, there were 666 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 135,344. This is 105 more than the previous day (561 cases).

The number of new cases reported daily over the past week from the 16th to this day were 610, 619, 528, 654, 646, 561, and 666. There were two days in the 500s and five days in the 600s. The daily average over the week was about 612 cases, while the key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, the average daily number of locally transmitted cases, was about 587, which still falls within Level 2.5 (nationwide 400?500 or more cases).

Among the new cases on this day, 633 were locally transmitted and 33 were imported from overseas. The number of locally transmitted cases increased by 91 from the previous day (542), returning to the 600s. By region, the metropolitan area accounted for 381 cases (60.2%), with Seoul at 205, Gyeonggi at 163, and Incheon at 13.

In non-metropolitan areas, there were 252 cases (39.8%) in total: Daegu 55, Ulsan and Gangwon 29 each, Busan 27, Gyeongnam 21, Chungnam 17, Jeonnam 16, Gwangju and Gyeongbuk 15 each, Jeonbuk 12, Jeju 7, Daejeon 5, and Chungbuk 4.

The number of imported cases was 33, which is 14 more than the previous day (19). Among them, 21 were identified during airport or port quarantine, and the remaining 12 tested positive while in self-quarantine at their residences or temporary living facilities in Seoul (3), Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Chungbuk (2 each), and Busan, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk (1 each).

Combining locally transmitted and imported cases (excluding quarantine), Seoul had 208 cases, Gyeonggi 165, and Incheon 15, totaling 388 cases. Nationwide, cases were reported in 16 cities and provinces except Sejong.

The number of deaths increased by 4 from the previous day, bringing the total to 1,926. The domestic average fatality rate is 1.42%. The number of critically ill patients totaled 150, an increase of 3 from the previous day (147).

The number of tests conducted at screening clinics on the previous day was 33,858, which is 5,892 fewer than the 39,750 tests conducted the day before.

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