COVID-19 New Cases Stay in the 30,000s for Three Consecutive Days... Double Compared to Last Week Again

33,286 New Confirmed Cases... 2.07 Times Higher Than Last Monday
Positivity Rate Among Testers Soars to 26.0%

Severe Cases Over 200 for 10 Consecutive Days
Severe Bed Occupancy Rate in the 10% Range
Medical Capacity Remains Stable

On the 6th, citizens lined up in a long queue to get tested for COVID-19 at a temporary screening clinic installed in Peace Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases has recorded over 30,000 for three consecutive days, as the spread driven by the Omicron variant continues.

On the 7th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 35,286 to a total of 1,044,963. Due to the 'weekend effect,' where the number of tests sharply decreases on weekends, the figure dropped by 3,404 from the previous day's 38,690, but compared to 17,077 a week ago, it showed a doubling phenomenon, increasing by 2.07 times.

With the weekend effect ending on Wednesday the 9th, there is a high possibility that new confirmed cases will exceed 40,000. The test positivity rate, which refers to the ratio of positive cases among suspected reports and temporary screening site tests, first surpassed 10% on the 3rd at 10.9%, rose to 20.8% on the 6th, and surged to 26.0% on this day. If this sharp increase in positivity rate combines with the rise in the number of tests, the upward trend in confirmed cases is expected to accelerate further.

However, the number of severe cases currently hospitalized is 270, down by 2 from the previous day, maintaining the 200s for 10 consecutive days. The death toll increased by 13, bringing the cumulative total to 6,886. Accordingly, the cumulative fatality rate has dropped to 0.66%. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the utilization rate of severe COVID-19 beds nationwide was 18.4%, and 19.4% in the Seoul metropolitan area, maintaining a stable level in the 10% range.

The infection routes of new confirmed cases show 35,131 cases from local transmission. In the Seoul metropolitan area, there were 6,873 in Seoul, 9,780 in Gyeonggi, and 2,366 in Incheon, totaling 19,019 cases (54.1%). Non-metropolitan cases include ▲Busan 1,916 ▲Daegu 1,967 ▲Gwangju 1,205 ▲Daejeon 968 ▲Ulsan 592 ▲Sejong 261 ▲Gangwon 738 ▲Chungbuk 884 ▲Chungnam 1,467 ▲Jeonbuk 1,269 ▲Jeonnam 1,129 ▲Gyeongbuk 1,684 ▲Gyeongnam 1,664 ▲Jeju 368, totaling 16,112 cases (45.9%). Imported cases numbered 155.

As of the 5th, the number of patients confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant after diagnosis increased by 5,824 from the previous week to a total of 22,703. Among them, 15,079 were domestic infections and 7,624 were imported cases.

Meanwhile, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate recorded 86.0% (a cumulative total of 44,112,713 people) as of midnight on this day. The third dose vaccination rate reached 54.9% of the total population (a cumulative total of 28,177,228 people).

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