COVID-19 New Cases in Four Digits for 3 Weeks... Non-Capital Region Nears 40% (Update)

On the 27th, when the dual hardships of the COVID-19 surge and heatwave were at their peak, Tongin Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul was quiet. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases remained in the 1,300 range for the third consecutive week, maintaining four-digit figures.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 27th at midnight that 1,365 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 191,531. Of these, 1,276 were domestic transmissions and 89 were imported cases.

By region, Seoul reported 349 cases, Gyeonggi 364, and Incheon 58, with the metropolitan area totaling 771 cases, accounting for 60.4% of domestic transmissions.

Non-metropolitan areas reported a total of 505 cases: Gyeongnam 85, Daejeon 71, Daegu 66, Busan 64, Gangwon 60, Chungnam 37, Jeonbuk 30, Gwangju 22, Gyeongbuk 20, Jeonnam and Jeju 15 each, Chungbuk 12, Ulsan 5, and Sejong 3.

Non-metropolitan cases have remained in the 500s for a week since the 21st, accounting for 39.6% of domestic transmissions on this day.

The number of imported cases was the highest since the 22nd, when members of the Cheonghae Unit who returned early due to a cluster infection were included in imported cases.

Among the 89 imported cases, 45 were detected during quarantine, and the remaining 44 were identified in the community. Forty were Korean nationals, and 49 were foreigners. Sixty-six cases were confirmed in Asian countries excluding China.

There are 269 critically ill patients. Two additional deaths were reported the previous day, bringing the total death toll to 2,079, with a fatality rate of 1.09%.

The number of newly released from isolation increased by 1,264, totaling 168,629.

The number of suspected cases tested was 56,263. Temporary screening clinics in the metropolitan area conducted 83,324 tests, confirming 206 cases. Non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics conducted 8,471 tests, identifying 38 cases. The total number of tests conducted was 148,058.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is giving an opening remark at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, 617,251 people received their first dose the previous day, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 17,516,422. The vaccination rate for the first dose is 34.1% of the population.

Fifty-eight thousand two hundred eighteen people received their second dose, with a total of 6,917,391 completing vaccination. The vaccination completion rate is 13.5% of the population.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the morning of the same day, "During the joint government special inspection over the past 20 days, more than 8,200 violations were detected," and added, "I urge each local government to actively take legal measures such as claiming damages against illegal acts that caused large-scale cluster infections."

As non-metropolitan areas uniformly raised social distancing to level 3 starting this day, Prime Minister Kim emphasized, "Now, all ministries, local governments, and both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas must join forces to achieve meaningful changes within two weeks," and urged, "If local governments judge the quarantine situation to be severe, they should proactively implement bold quarantine strengthening measures tailored to local conditions, such as banning gatherings or restricting business hours at high-risk facilities."

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