New COVID-19 Cases Back to 7,000s... 1,063 Severe Cases, Highest Ever

On the 21st, when 5,202 new COVID-19 cases and 1,022 critically ill patients were recorded, citizens lined up in a long queue for testing at the temporary screening clinic at Yongsan Station in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The number of new COVID-19 cases has once again reached the mid-7,000s. The number of critically ill patients has been recorded in the 1,000s for consecutive days, setting a new record high.

On the 22nd, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, 7,456 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 583,065.

The number of new cases is 2,254 more than the previous day's 5,202. Although the new cases were in the 5,000 range for two consecutive days on the 20th and 21st, they have surged back to the 7,000 range. Compared to 7,850 cases on the 15th, a week ago, the new cases decreased by 394.

The number of critically ill patients increased by 41 from the previous day to 1,063, the highest since the 19th (1,025). Since the 18th, when the number first exceeded 1,000, the count has remained in the 1,000s except for one day on the 20th when it was 997.

The government stated that it will focus on deploying medical staff from national university hospitals, public hospitals, and military medical personnel to treat severe COVID-19 patients to address the shortage of hospital beds.

The number of deaths on the previous day was 78, bringing the total cumulative deaths in South Korea to 4,906. The average fatality rate is 0.84%. Among the deceased, 72 were aged 60 or older, 4 were in their 50s, and 2 were in their 40s.

Infections from the Omicron COVID-19 variant continue to rise. Following confirmed cluster outbreaks in Jeonbuk and Gwangju the previous day, 7 new Omicron variant cases were added, bringing the total to 234.

Regarding the infection routes of the new COVID-19 cases on this day, 7,365 were locally transmitted and 91 were imported cases.

Among the locally transmitted new cases, 2,779 were in Seoul, 2,192 in Gyeonggi, and 475 in Incheon, totaling 5,446 cases (73.9%) in the metropolitan area alone. Non-metropolitan new cases numbered 1,919 (26.1%), including 431 in Busan, 246 in Gyeongnam, 162 in Chungnam, 156 in Daejeon, 137 in Gyeongbuk, 135 in Jeonbuk, 131 in Daegu, 130 in Gangwon, 121 in Chungbuk, 103 in Gwangju, 46 in Jeonnam, 45 in Sejong, 39 in Ulsan, and 37 in Jeju.

Imported cases numbered 91, 33 more than the previous day's 58. Combining local and imported cases (excluding quarantine), the new cases in the metropolitan area were 2,805 in Seoul, 2,225 in Gyeonggi, and 479 in Incheon, totaling 5,509. Cases were reported in all 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

The number of tests conducted at screening clinics on the previous day was 67,546, and tests at temporary screening centers numbered 179,533, totaling 247,079 tests.

The domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate (based on the total population) as of midnight was 82.1% (a cumulative 42,175,680 people), and the booster vaccination rate was 25.5% (a cumulative 13,081,896 people).

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