Severe Cases Reach First 1,000 Mark... 7,314 New Confirmed Cases

On the 17th, when the morning temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 5 degrees Celsius, bringing a severe cold wave, citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, are waiting in the cold to get tested for COVID-19. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] On the first day of strengthened social distancing measures, the 18th, the number of critically ill patients exceeded 1,000 for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak. The number of new confirmed cases recorded was in the 7,000 range.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on this day, 7,314 new confirmed cases were added, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 558,864. The number of new confirmed cases has remained in the 7,000 range for four consecutive days.

The number of critically ill patients increased by 45 from the previous day to 1,016. The number of critically ill patients first exceeded 800 on the 8th, then 900 on the 14th, six days later, and surpassed 1,000 on this day, four days after that, continuously setting new records.

The number of deaths was 53, with 49 aged 60 or older, and two each in their 50s and 30s.

Since the phased return to normal life was implemented last month, quarantine rules have been significantly relaxed and social activities have increased, gradually expanding the scale of confirmed cases. In particular, with the full onset of winter, which is favorable for virus spread, and the introduction of the Omicron variant, a new COVID-19 variant known for faster transmissibility, there is a possibility that the spread will accelerate further.

Looking at the infection routes of new confirmed cases on this day, 7,284 were locally transmitted and 30 were imported cases. Among the locally transmitted new confirmed cases, 2,788 were in Seoul, 2,033 in Gyeonggi, and 599 in Incheon, with 5,420 cases (74.4%) coming from the metropolitan area alone.

The vaccination completion rate as of midnight on this day was 81.8% (a cumulative total of 42,024,307 people), and the booster vaccination rate was 21.3% of the total population (10,954,877 people). More than half of those aged 60 and over, 54.8%, have completed booster vaccinations.

The number of Omicron variant infections also increased by 15, bringing the cumulative total to 166.

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