22,907 Confirmed Cases... Weekend Raises Concern of Up to 50,000

Over 10,000 Cases in a Week, Doubled
Weekend Surge Expected Up to 50,000
Test Positivity Rate Also Exceeds 10%

On the 3rd, in front of Seoul City Hall, citizens are receiving rapid antigen tests at a temporary screening clinic following the change in COVID-19 testing methods. The general public will primarily undergo rapid antigen tests using self-test kits instead of the traditional PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests. Alternatively, professional rapid antigen tests can be conducted at local clinics such as respiratory specialty clinics. Although the accuracy is lower than PCR, this measure aims to meet the increasing demand for testing due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases is approaching 23,000, continuously breaking record highs. It nearly doubled within just over a week since surpassing 10,000 cases for the first time on the 26th of last month. Considering the significant drop in testing during the Seollal holiday period, the increase in confirmed cases is expected to accelerate further this weekend.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that as of midnight on the 3rd, there were 22,907 new confirmed cases, bringing the cumulative total to 907,214. The number of new cases increased by 2,638 compared to the previous day (20,269). There were 25 new deaths reported on the same day, totaling 6,812. However, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 4 to 274 compared to the day before.

Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the test positivity rate reached 10.9%, surpassing 10% for the first time. This is double the 5.5% recorded less than a week ago on the 28th of last month.

Despite the significant reduction in COVID-19 testing during the Seollal holiday, the rapid increase in confirmed cases suggests that if testing surges on this day and the following day immediately after the holiday, the number of new cases announced this weekend could range from at least 30,000 to over 50,000. The cumulative number of confirmed cases is also expected to exceed 1 million by the end of this weekend.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated, "Since the test positivity rate is rising, we expect the number of confirmed cases to increase further once testing volume recovers after the holiday. We are discussing response plans according to various scales of increase."

Meanwhile, starting today, the nationwide testing and treatment system is shifting to focus on high-risk groups. Among 428 respiratory-specialized clinics equipped with negative pressure facilities, 391 have begun diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Of the 1,004 local clinics and hospitals (designated respiratory treatment medical institutions) that expressed willingness to participate in treatment, 343 are joining the new treatment system today. Thus, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients are being conducted at a total of about 700 respiratory-specialized clinics and local clinics and hospitals. The remaining respiratory-specialized clinics and hospitals will sequentially transition to the new treatment system by the third week of February as preparations are completed. Under the new system, general individuals who are not eligible for priority PCR testing can receive rapid antigen tests at respiratory-specialized clinics or designated local clinics and hospitals.

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