Domestic COVID-19 New Cases 4,072... Cumulative Cases Surpass 700,000

On the 18th, the temporary screening clinic in front of Seoul City Hall was crowded with citizens. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] As the Omicron COVID-19 variant spreads in earnest, South Korea's cumulative number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 700,000.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 18th at midnight that the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 4,072, bringing the total confirmed cases to 700,102. This marks surpassing 700,000 cases 729 days after the first domestic COVID-19 case was confirmed on January 20, 2020.

The number of new cases increased by 214 from the previous day's 3,858. Compared to a week ago (the 11th) with 3,094 cases, it is 978 more, and compared to two weeks ago on the 4th with 3,022 cases, it is 1,050 more. Since last month, as the third dose vaccination campaign intensified and the government strengthened quarantine measures, the number of new cases had been decreasing but has recently started to rise again along with the increased detection rate of the Omicron variant.

The number of critically ill patients continues to decline. On this day, the number of critically ill patients was 543, down 36 from the previous day's 579, remaining in the 500s for two consecutive days. The utilization rate of intensive care beds dropped to the high 20% range. The number of deaths increased by 45, bringing the cumulative death toll to 6,378, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.91%.

Looking at the infection routes of new confirmed cases, 3,763 were locally transmitted. Among local cases, Gyeonggi had 1,470, Seoul 684, and Incheon 177, totaling 2,331 cases (61.9%) in the metropolitan area. Non-metropolitan areas reported 1,432 cases (38.1%) including Gwangju 174, Daegu 162, Jeonbuk 147, Chungnam 140, Jeonnam 138, Gyeongnam 134, Gyeongbuk 129, Busan 102, Daejeon 101, Gangwon 94, Chungbuk 55, Ulsan 33, Sejong 21, and Jeju 2.

Imported cases numbered 309, marking four consecutive days of over 300 cases since the 15th.

Meanwhile, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate as of midnight on this day was 84.9% (a cumulative total of 43,582,128 people). The third dose vaccination was completed by 46.3% of the total population (a cumulative total of 23,741,205 people).

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