Record High 1,784 Cases Amid Heatwave... Confirmed Cases Surge

New Record High of 1,784 New Cases Again
551 Cases Outside Capital Region Including 100 in Busan

19 More Cases Added in Cheonghae Unit, Total 266
Expected to Exceed 2,000 Tomorrow Including Statistics

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new daily COVID-19 cases reached a record high of 1,784. Despite the implementation of Level 4 social distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area, the "4th wave" shows no signs of subsiding and is spreading to non-metropolitan areas, raising grim forecasts that the number of confirmed cases will soon exceed 2,000.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 21st at midnight that the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,784 from the previous day to 182,265. This surpassed the previous record of 1,614 cases set on the 14th, just one week ago. The "weekend effect," where the number of diagnostic tests tends to decrease over the weekend, has disappeared, leading to a rapid surge again. The sources of infection for the new cases were 1,726 from local transmission and 58 from overseas inflow.

Unlike the early stages of the outbreak when the spread was concentrated in the metropolitan area, recently, confirmed cases have been rapidly increasing in non-metropolitan regions. As of this date, the number of locally transmitted cases in non-metropolitan areas reached 551, surpassing 500 for the first time since the first wave centered around Daegu. Cases continue to rise by region, with Busan reporting 100 cases and Daejeon 72 cases. In Daejeon, the weekly average number of confirmed cases reached 59.1, exceeding the Level 4 social distancing threshold of 59. The proportion of non-metropolitan cases compared to total local cases also reached 31.9%, more than double the early stage of the 4th wave (15.2%).

Lee Sang-won, head of the epidemiological investigation and analysis team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, warned, "The outbreak is ongoing, and we expect the upward trend to continue. This is not the peak yet, and there is room for further increase."

On the 21st, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, medical staff are sweating profusely under the scorching heat at the temporary screening clinic in the plaza of Sogang University Station in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

In particular, the number of confirmed cases announced on the 22nd is expected to increase further. Among the 301 personnel of the Cheonghae Unit, 266 out of 289 tested positive, excluding 12 scheduled for retesting, and this number is expected to be reflected. In this case, the number of confirmed cases could exceed 2,000.

The number of critically ill patients, which was expected to decrease due to vaccination, is instead increasing. Over the past three days, the number of critically ill patients has risen from 185 to 207 to 214. Although severe progression among those aged 60 and over is clearly suppressed, a large-scale spread among those under 50, who have not been widely vaccinated, is causing a steady increase in critically ill patients. Lee said, "Last week, the severe case rate for those under 60 was 1.13%," adding, "Even among younger age groups, 1 out of 100 infected individuals requires intensive care."

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