17,532 New COVID-19 Cases... Highest Record for Six Consecutive Days

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the COVID-19 Omicron variant spreads, the number of new confirmed cases in South Korea reached the 17,000 range on the 30th, marking the highest record for six consecutive days.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, 17,532 new confirmed cases were reported, an increase of 6 cases from the previous day. The cumulative number of confirmed cases stands at 828,637. Authorities initially reported the previous day's count as 17,542, but after identifying misreporting cases in some local governments including Jeonbuk, 16 cases were excluded from the total, revising the figure to 17,526.

Since the Omicron variant became the dominant strain domestically, confirmed cases have surged, breaking the highest record for six consecutive days since the 25th. The number of new confirmed cases first reached the 8,000 range on the 25th, exceeded 13,000 on the 26th, and has steadily increased, now approaching the 20,000 mark. The number of locally transmitted cases was 5,662 in Gyeonggi, 4,157 in Seoul, and 1,306 in Incheon, with 11,125 cases (64.3%) coming from the metropolitan area alone.

However, this has not led to an increase in critically ill patients or deaths. As of midnight, the number of critically ill patients was 277, down by 11 from the previous day, maintaining the 200 range for the second consecutive day. Deaths increased by 20, bringing the cumulative total to 6,732. The cumulative fatality rate is 0.81%.

As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the nationwide COVID-19 severe bed occupancy rate was 15.6%, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous day. The number of patients receiving home treatment as of midnight was 66,972, an increase of 8,696 from the previous day.

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