COVID-19 New Cases 357... First Dose Vaccination Rate at 29.2%

Medical staff are guiding citizens through testing at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the 20th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases has dropped back to the 300s after six days. The number of people who have completed the first dose of vaccination reached 15.01 million, raising the vaccination rate to 29.2% of the population.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 21st at midnight that the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 357 from the previous day to 151,506. The sources of infection for the new cases were 317 local transmissions and 40 imported cases.

Among the locally transmitted cases, 7 out of 10 occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 127 cases in Seoul (40.1%), 88 in Gyeonggi (27.8%), and 7 in Incheon (2.2%), totaling 222 cases in the metropolitan area.

Other regions reported the following cases: 16 in Daegu, 14 in Daejeon, 11 in Busan, 11 in Chungnam, 10 in Jeonnam, 10 in Gyeongnam, 7 in Incheon, 7 in Gangwon, 6 in Gyeongbuk, 3 in Jeonbuk, 2 in Sejong, 2 in Chungbuk, 2 in Jeju, and 1 in Gwangju. Ulsan reported no new cases.

There were 40 imported cases. Among them, 12 were detected during quarantine, and 28 were confirmed in the community. Of these, 27 were Korean nationals and 13 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 23,181. Due to the 'weekend effect,' the number of tests significantly decreased. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 11,497 tests were conducted, confirming 47 new cases, while 1,271 tests were conducted at non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, confirming 4 new cases.

The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 143,268, an increase of 369 from the previous day. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 9 to 137. The death toll rose by 2 to 2,004.

On the morning of the 17th, an elderly person is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at the COVID-19 vaccination center set up at Yeongdeungpo Art Hall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 505 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total number of people who completed the first dose to 15,014,819. Among them, 10,373,174 received the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, 3,525,781 received the Pfizer vaccine, and 1,115,864 received the Janssen vaccine. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 29.2%.

The number of people who completed vaccination increased by 1,038 from the previous day to 4,047,846. The vaccination rate for the second dose relative to the population is 7.9%. An additional 714 people received the Pfizer vaccine, bringing the total number of completed vaccinations to 2,107,331. There were no additional completions for the AZ vaccine, and since the Janssen vaccine was developed as a single-dose vaccine, all first-dose recipients are considered fully vaccinated.

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