New COVID-19 Cases Over 7,000 for 3 Consecutive Days... 4,830 Additional Omicron Infections Last Week

Omicron Variant Detection Rate Surpasses 50%

On the 23rd, citizens visited the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Over the past week, 4,574 additional nationwide confirmed cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant have been reported, marking the beginning of a sharp increase in new cases due to the dominance of the Omicron variant.

On the morning of the 24th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight on the 22nd, the number of Omicron infections nationwide last week (January 16?22) increased by 4,574 cases (2,895 domestic infections, 1,935 imported cases), bringing the cumulative total to 9,860. This is 1,895 more new infections than the previous week (January 9?15), which recorded 2,679 cases.

The domestic detection rate of the Omicron variant has surpassed 50%, confirming it as the dominant strain. Jeon Haecheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated in the CDSCH opening remarks that "Omicron infections are rapidly increasing mainly in the Gyeonggi and Honam regions, with the domestic detection rate reaching about 50%." According to the CDSCH, the domestic detection rate of the Omicron variant in the third week of January (January 17?23) was 50.3%.

Compared to the existing Delta variant, the Omicron variant is 2 to 3 times more transmissible, and due to its spread, the number of new COVID-19 cases has remained in the 7,000 range for three consecutive days. As of midnight on this day, the nationwide new confirmed cases were 7,513, bringing the cumulative total to 741,413. Although the number of new cases decreased by 117 from the previous day, it is 3,656 more than a week ago (the 17th) and 4,508 more than two weeks ago (the 10th).

Looking at the infection routes of new confirmed cases, 7,159 are locally transmitted. The breakdown by region is as follows: Gyeonggi 2,391, Seoul 1,626, Incheon 552, Daegu 463, Busan 287, Gwangju 278, Chungnam 240, Gyeongnam 220, Gyeongbuk 213, Jeonnam 196, Jeonbuk 192, Daejeon 153, Chungbuk 141, Gangwon 96, Ulsan 65, Sejong 31, and Jeju 15. Imported cases number 354.

However, the number of critically ill patients continues to decline. As of midnight on this day, the number of hospitalized critically ill patients was 418, marking five consecutive days in the 400s. The number of deaths increased by 25, bringing the cumulative total to 6,565 (fatality rate 0.89%).

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