1025 Critically Ill Patients Again Record High... 6236 New Confirmed Cases (Summary)

New COVID-19 Cases Drop Below 7,000 for the First Time in Five Days

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] On the second day of the reimplementation of 'social distancing' on the 19th, the number of severe COVID-19 cases in South Korea reached 1,025, setting a new record. Following the previous day's 1,016 cases, which marked the first time the number exceeded 1,000, the count has remained above 1,000 for two consecutive days.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that as of midnight, 6,236 new confirmed cases were added, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 565,098.

The number of new confirmed cases on this day decreased by 1,077 compared to the previous day, falling below 7,000 for the first time in five days since the 14th (5,567 cases). This is attributed to fewer tests conducted over the weekend and a decrease in people visiting testing centers due to snowfall the previous day.

The number of severe cases remained above 1,000 for the second day at 1,025. This figure is 9 more than the previous day (1,016) and is the highest since the first COVID-19 case was reported in South Korea on January 20 last year.

The number of deaths reported the previous day was 78, bringing the total cumulative deaths to 4,722. The average fatality rate stands at 0.84%. Among the 78 deaths, 73 were aged 60 or older, 3 were in their 50s, and 2 were in their 40s.

The number of Omicron variant infections increased by 12, totaling 178 cases. All Omicron variant cases were imported from overseas.

Regarding the infection routes of the new confirmed cases on this day, 6,173 were locally transmitted and 63 were imported. Among the locally transmitted cases, 2,308 were in Seoul, 1,723 in Gyeonggi, and 492 in Incheon, totaling 4,523 cases (73.3%) in the metropolitan area.

Non-metropolitan areas reported a total of 1,650 cases (26.7%), including 362 in Busan, 214 in Gyeongnam, 206 in Chungnam, 152 in Daegu, 147 in Daejeon, 134 in Gyeongbuk, 100 in Gangwon, 92 in Jeonbuk, 91 in Chungbuk, 43 in Jeonnam, 37 in Ulsan, 27 in Gwangju, 23 in Sejong, and 22 in Jeju.

The number of imported cases was 63, more than double the previous day's 30. Confirmed cases were reported in all 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

The number of suspected cases tested at screening clinics the previous day was 54,156, and the number of tests conducted at temporary screening centers was 133,774, totaling 187,930 tests.

Meanwhile, as of midnight, the COVID-19 vaccination completion rate in South Korea stands at 81.9% (a cumulative 42,068,035 people), and booster shots have been administered to 22.5% of the total population (11,528,139 people).

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