New Record High of 1,842 New COVID-19 Cases Including 270 from Cheonghae Unit

On the 21st, citizens are waiting for testing at the temporary screening clinic in the public parking lot of Sinchon Train Station, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 22nd, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases reached a record high of 1,842. This came just one day after the previous record of 1,784 cases was set on the 21st, marking the highest number in a week. Although locally transmitted cases slightly decreased, the inclusion of 270 confirmed cases among the Cheonghae Unit soldiers in the statistics on this day caused the total number of confirmed cases to rise significantly.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 22nd, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,842 from the previous day to 184,103. The sources of the new cases were 1,533 local transmissions and 309 imported cases. The weekly average of locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, was 1,426.6, marking a reversal to a downward trend after 31 days.

By region, 987 cases, accounting for 64.4% of local transmissions, were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area: Seoul with 494 cases (32.2%), Gyeonggi with 363 cases (23.7%), and Incheon with 130 cases (8.5%).

In non-metropolitan areas, 546 cases were confirmed, maintaining over 500 cases for two consecutive days. Notably, the proportion of non-metropolitan cases among total local transmissions surged to 35.6%. By region, the confirmed cases were as follows: Busan 102, Daegu 38, Gwangju 11, Daejeon 81, Ulsan 25, Sejong 10, Gangwon 47, Chungbuk 28, Chungnam 39, Jeonbuk 4, Jeonnam 18, Gyeongbuk 29, Gyeongnam 90, and Jeju 24.

There were 309 imported cases. Following the return of Cheonghae Unit soldiers on the 20th, test results on the 21st identified 270 confirmed cases among Korean nationals detected during quarantine after arriving from Africa. Including these, 290 of the total imported cases were identified during quarantine, and 19 were confirmed locally. Among them, 284 were Korean nationals and 25 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted on the previous day was 130,283. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 76,490 tests were conducted, confirming 354 new cases, while 8,548 tests were conducted at non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, confirming 26 cases.

The death toll rose by 3 from the previous day to 2,063, and the number of critically ill patients increased by 4 to 214.

On the morning of the 20th, citizens are seated at the vaccination center in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, to monitor adverse reactions after receiving the vaccine.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 139,214 people received new COVID-19 vaccinations. The cumulative number of first-dose recipients reached 16,583,044, representing a vaccination rate of 32.3% of the population. By vaccine type, 476 received AstraZeneca (AZ) and 138,738 received Pfizer.

The number of people who completed vaccination increased by 23,593 from the previous day to 6,723,004, with a second-dose vaccination rate of 13.1% of the population. Among those who received the first dose of the AZ vaccine, 5,302 received their second dose with AZ, and 8,878 received a second dose of Pfizer as a mixed vaccination. An additional 7,894 people completed vaccination with Pfizer only, bringing the total to 3,766,506. Moderna vaccinations also increased by 2,503.

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