72% of New Variants Are Delta... Spreading Nationwide as Hosts of 'Cheongchun's Carelessness'

New Record of 1,784 New Cases
First 500s in Non-Capital Areas Since 4th Major Wave
Delta Variant Infections 2.5 Times Higher Than Alpha Variant

On the 21st, when 1,784 new COVID-19 cases were reported, marking the highest record in a week, citizens who visited the temporary screening clinic set up near the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are waiting to be tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The record high of 1,784 new domestic COVID-19 cases is largely due to the rapid nationwide spread of the Delta variant, primarily among asymptomatic and mild young adults. On this day, the number of cases outside the metropolitan area exceeded 500 for the first time since the '4th wave,' with some regions reporting triple-digit cases, signaling a nationwide spread becoming a reality.

"Delta Variant Soon to Become Dominant"... Spreading Mainly Through People in Their 20s

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 21st, among the recent domestic confirmed cases with identified variants, 7 out of 10 were confirmed as the Delta variant. In the past week (June 11?17), excluding imported cases, among 1,001 confirmed cases infected with the four major variants from the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and India, 719 were Delta variant cases, accounting for 71.8% of the total. This is 2.5 times the number of Alpha variant cases, which numbered 282 during the same period.

If this trend continues, the number of Delta variant infections will soon surpass the Alpha variant, which had been the most prevalent variant since December last year, establishing Delta as the dominant strain domestically. The Central Disease Control Headquarters stated, "The detection rate of the Delta variant in domestic cases over the past week is 33.9%, so it has not yet become the majority 'dominant' strain, but considering the rapid increase, it is likely to become dominant within a few weeks."

The main cause of the highest number of confirmed cases is attributed to the Delta variant, which has much higher transmissibility than the existing virus, spreading primarily through people in their 20s who are socially active. According to the age distribution of major variant cases, among 1,741 Delta variant cases detected, those in their 20s accounted for 406 cases, overwhelmingly the highest. This was followed by those in their 30s (346), 40s (332), and 50s (259), with people aged 20 to 50 making up 1,343 cases, or 77% of the total.

Professor Jung Jae-hoon of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University College of Medicine diagnosed, "The spread of the Delta variant among socially active people in their 20s to 50s, who have not yet been vaccinated, is increasing the scale of infections." He added that among young people in their 20s and 30s, many are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, leading to delayed diagnosis and sequential 'n-th generation infections,' which can cause rapid spread.

Professor Kim Ja-young of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine at Catholic Kwandong University International St. Mary's Hospital explained, "Recently, among those tested at hospitals, even if they had no particular symptoms, the proportion of positive cases among people in their 20s and 30s who got tested because someone around them was confirmed has increased significantly," indicating that infections among young adults are spreading throughout local communities.

31% of Confirmed Cases Do Not Know Infection Route... Hospital Beds Outside Metropolitan Area Filling Quickly

Among 18,940 reported cases from the 7th to the 20th, 45.2% were infected through contact with previously confirmed cases. As the total number of confirmed cases grows, the proportion of transmission from previously confirmed patients has increased. There were 5,986 cases, or 31.6% of the total, where the infection route was unknown. With the rapid increase in confirmed cases, about one-third could not identify their infection source.

Professor Lee Jae-gap of Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital pointed out, "Recently, small-scale transmissions linked to daily life settings such as department stores, workplaces, pubs, restaurants, and academies have become predominant rather than large-scale cluster infections," suggesting that there may be more latent infections in the community.

As the spread outside the metropolitan area intensifies, concerns about hospital bed shortages are growing in some regions. As of midnight on this day, the number of critically ill patients increased by 7 from the previous day to 214, the highest since the 4th wave. However, many regions lack sufficient beds to treat these patients. Semi-intensive care unit beds in Incheon, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk regions were reported as '0.' Semi-intensive care beds are for patients whose condition is improving from severe or who are at high risk of worsening.

Busan, which recorded triple-digit confirmed cases for the first time on this day, has only 9 semi-intensive care beds, and available inpatient beds in Daejeon, Gangwon, Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeju are in single digits. Professor Eom Jung-sik of Gachon University College of Medicine expressed concern, saying, "As the number of confirmed cases grows and critically ill patients rise to the 200s, a shortage of hospital beds is occurring."

Regarding this, Lee Ki-il, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "Although Incheon, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk have no semi-intensive care beds, there are still 40, 7, and 3 intensive care beds available respectively for critically ill patients, so there is no major difficulty. However, eight local governments have not yet established their own residential treatment centers, and we are asking them to open them quickly to care for mild patients."

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