269 Omicron Variant Infections 'Surge'... 4,875 New COVID-19 Cases

Severe and Critical Patients Remain in the 1,000s for 11 Consecutive Days

Citizens waiting to get tested at the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the 31st. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The daily number of new domestic COVID-19 Omicron variant cases in South Korea has surpassed 200 for the first time.

On the 31st, the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight, the number of Omicron variant infections surged by 269, bringing the total to 894. Among these, 83 were domestic (community) infections, and 186 were imported cases.

This sharp increase appears to be the result of the domestically developed Omicron variant PCR reagent being utilized in testing since the previous day, enabling confirmation of Omicron infection within 3 to 4 hours.

Among the imported cases, 131 were from the United States and 19 from the United Kingdom. France reported 9 cases, Canada 5, and the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Turkey each had 2 cases. Additionally, infections were imported from the Dominican Republic, Malta, Mongolia, Sweden, Spain, India, China, Cameroon, Qatar, Kenya, the Philippines, and Hungary.

As of midnight, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 4,875, bringing the cumulative total to 630,838. The new cases decreased by 160 from 5,035 the previous day, and by 1,358 compared to 6,233 cases on the 24th, a week ago, continuing the overall downward trend. This is attributed to increased vaccination and the effects of quarantine measures.

However, the number of critically ill patients and deaths has not decreased. The number of critically ill patients was 1,056, down by 89 from 1,145 the previous day, but remained above 1,000 for the 11th consecutive day. The number of deaths was 108, bringing the total death toll to 5,563. The cumulative fatality rate stands at 0.88%.

Regarding the infection routes of new COVID-19 cases on this day, 4,758 were community transmissions and 117 were imported. Among community cases, Seoul reported 1,635, Gyeonggi 1,454, and Incheon 293, totaling 3,382 cases (71.1%) in the metropolitan area. Outside the metropolitan area, Busan had 257 cases, Gyeongnam 228, Chungnam 136, Daegu 130, Gyeongbuk 103, Jeonbuk 99, Gwangju 85, Chungbuk 73, Daejeon and Gangwon each 69, Jeonnam 58, Ulsan 38, Sejong 17, and Jeju 14, totaling 1,376 cases (28.9%).

The previous day, the number of suspected patient tests conducted at screening clinics was 57,910, and tests at temporary screening centers totaled 151,850, making a total of 209,760 tests conducted.

Meanwhile, as of midnight, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate was 82.8% (a cumulative total of 42,533,516 people), and the third dose vaccination rate reached 34.4% of the total population (17,673,599 people).

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