Authorities: "Clear slowdown in confirmed case increase trend... Impact of increased 3rd vaccinations and strengthened quarantine measures"

New COVID-19 Cases Decrease by 700 Compared to a Week Ago
"Severe Cases and Deaths Expected to Reflect This in 4-5 Days"

On the 23rd, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, medical staff at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, a hospital dedicated to COVID-19 treatment, were transporting patients. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, the number of critically ill patients reached 1,083, marking the highest ever recorded. The number of deaths also reached a record high of 109. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The government evaluated that the increase in new COVID-19 cases has slowed down due to factors such as the rise in the third vaccination rate.

At 11 a.m. on the 23rd, Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated in a briefing, "It clearly appears that the upward trend in (new cases) has slowed down," adding, "This seems to be due to the increase in third vaccinations and the strengthened quarantine measures implemented since the 6th."

The number of new COVID-19 cases was recorded at 6,919 as of midnight that day. This is 537 fewer than the previous day's 7,456 and 700 fewer compared to 7,619 cases reported a week earlier on the 16th. Son said, "The continuous decrease in patients aged 60 and over also appears to be an effect of the third vaccination rate rising to 64% among the elderly."

Son added, "The decrease in new cases is expected to be reflected in indicators such as critically ill patients and deaths with a one-week lag, which will affect the capacity to secure personnel and hospital beds," and evaluated that such effects will appear in about 4 to 5 days. As of midnight that day, the number of critically ill patients was 1,083 and deaths were 109, both record highs.

On the same day, authorities also emphasized, "There will be no forced discharge without exception through administrative orders simply because 20 days of hospitalization have passed." Park Hyang, head of the Quarantine General Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, explained, "Patients are discharged only when there is absolutely no risk of infection, and the 20-day period is not arithmetically cut off," adding, "This is a concept of lifting isolation by transferring patients from dedicated COVID-19 intensive care units to other general wards, not stopping treatment and discharging them."

Previously, the government announced guidelines to transfer patients who have been hospitalized for more than 20 days to general intensive care units or other hospitals to improve bed operation efficiency. If patients refuse transfer, they may be subject to co-payments for medical treatment and fines according to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Park added, "Patients may be moved to different rooms within the same hospital, and we also coordinate and guide transfers to other hospitals through discussions on bed allocation in the metropolitan area," adding, "This is not done uniformly by hospitals but in consultation and coordination with us (authorities)."

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