'1990 Myeong' Nearly 2000 for Two Consecutive Days... Non-Capital Region Cases Continue to Rise

On the 12th, citizens are waiting for testing at the temporary screening clinic at Yongsan Station in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases remained in the 1900s for the second consecutive day, with 1,990 new cases reported. Notably, non-metropolitan area cases approached 788, indicating a worsening spread.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 13th at midnight that the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,990 from the previous day to 220,182. Of the new cases, 1,913 were locally transmitted and 77 were imported. Although the daily new cases slightly decreased compared to the previous day, the weekly average of locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for social distancing adjustments, rose to 1,766.3.

By region, 1,125 cases (58.8% of local cases) were reported in the metropolitan area. This is slightly lower than the previous day's 1,201 but still remains in the 1,000s. The breakdown by region is Seoul 504, Gyeonggi 527, and Incheon 94. The metropolitan area's weekly average of locally transmitted cases reached a record high of 1,069.0.

Non-metropolitan cases reached a record high since the 4th wave with 788 confirmed cases. The numbers by region are: Busan 178, Daegu 55, Gwangju 14, Daejeon 58, Ulsan 39, Sejong 7, Gangwon 33, Chungbuk 50, Chungnam 68, Jeonbuk 25, Jeonnam 18, Gyeongbuk 77, Gyeongnam 122, and Jeju 44.

There were 77 imported cases, of which 18 were detected during quarantine and 59 in the community. Among them, 28 were Korean nationals and 49 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 155,698. At temporary screening clinics in the metropolitan area, 84,785 tests were conducted, confirming 385 new cases, while 19,988 tests were conducted at non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, confirming 106 cases.

The death toll rose by 6 to 2,144, and the number of critically ill patients decreased by 3 to 369 compared to the previous day.

On the morning of the 12th, when the second dose began for people aged 60 to 74 who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine in the first half of the year, an official at H Plus Yangji Hospital in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, is holding up a vaccine ampoule to be used for the vaccination.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 166,325 people received new COVID-19 vaccinations. The cumulative number of first-dose vaccinations reached 21,981,720, with a vaccination rate of 42.8% of the population. The breakdown by vaccine type is AstraZeneca (AZ) 35,802, Pfizer 126,310, and Moderna 4,213.

The number of fully vaccinated individuals increased by 705,064 from the previous day to 8,932,065. The second-dose vaccination rate relative to the population is 17.4%. Among those who received the first dose of the AZ vaccine, 535,965 received their second dose of AZ, and 33,583 received a second dose of Pfizer as a mixed vaccination. The surge in AZ second doses is due to the large number of 60-74-year-olds and other AZ first-dose recipients reaching their vaccination interval the previous day. Additionally, 135,513 people received their second dose of Pfizer only, bringing the total fully vaccinated with Pfizer to 5,044,428. Three people also received their second dose of Moderna.

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