New COVID-19 Cases Remain in the 500s for Two Consecutive Days... Gaps in Nationwide Daily Life Quarantine Measures

Confirmed Cases in 17 Cities and Provinces Nationwide

On the 28th, elderly individuals who completed their COVID-19 vaccination at the vaccination center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, are waiting in the observation area. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

As the spread of COVID-19 continues domestically, the number of new confirmed cases on the 29th remained in the 500s for the second consecutive day.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on this day, there were 533 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 139,431.

This is 54 fewer than the previous day (587 cases), but with numerous large and small cluster infections occurring nationwide, the COVID-19 outbreak has not yet subsided.

From the 23rd to this day, the daily new confirmed cases over the past week were 585 → 530 → 516 → 707 → 629 → 587 → 533. During this period, the number of cases was in the 500s five times, and in the 600s and 700s once each.

With an average of about 584 cases per day over the week, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the daily average of locally transmitted cases, was 562, still not falling below the 2.5 level (nationwide 400?500 or more cases).

Regarding the infection routes of the new confirmed cases on this day, 505 were locally transmitted and 28 were imported from overseas.

The number of locally transmitted cases decreased by 66 from the previous day (571 cases).

By region, Seoul had 190 cases, Gyeonggi 136, and Incheon 17, totaling 343 cases (67.9%) in the metropolitan area.

Non-metropolitan areas reported 162 cases (32.1%), including Daegu and Chungbuk with 22 each, Gyeongnam 19, Busan 14, Gyeongbuk 13, Jeju 12, Daejeon 11, Gangwon and Chungnam 10 each, Gwangju 9, Ulsan 8, Jeonbuk 6, Jeonnam 5, and Sejong 1.

Major new cluster infection cases include 22 cases related to a workplace in Guro-gu, Seoul, 11 cases linked to a singing practice room in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, and 12 cases from the second outbreak at a daycare center in Guri-si, Gyeonggi.

In non-metropolitan areas, 6 cases each were confirmed related to an elementary school in Seo-gu, Daejeon, and a nursing home in Yesan-gun, Chungnam.

The number of imported cases was 28, 12 more than the previous day (16 cases).

Among these, 16 were identified during airport or port quarantine processes. The remaining 12 tested positive while in self-quarantine at their residences or temporary living facilities in Seoul (4), Gyeonggi (3), Chungnam (2), and Incheon, Gyeongnam, and Jeju (1 each).

Combining locally transmitted and imported cases (excluding quarantine), Seoul had 194 cases, Gyeonggi 139, and Incheon 18, totaling 351 cases. Confirmed cases were reported across all 17 provinces nationwide.

The number of deaths increased by 5 from the previous day, reaching a cumulative total of 1,951. The domestic average fatality rate is 1.40%.

The number of critically ill patients was 160, an increase of 4 from the previous day (156).

The number of tests conducted at screening clinics the previous day was 31,135, which is 5,628 fewer than the 36,763 tests conducted the day before.

The positivity rate, calculated as confirmed cases relative to the number of tests, was 1.71% (533 out of 31,135), slightly higher than the previous day's 1.60% (587 out of 36,763). As of midnight on this day, the cumulative positivity rate was 1.43% (139,431 out of 9,733,591 tests).

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