40,567 COVID-19 Confirmed Cases ... 168,020 Home Treatment Patients (Comprehensive)

On the 9th, with 49,567 new COVID-19 cases reported, an increase of about 13,000 in one day, citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul City Hall Plaza are waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Amid the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge, the daily number of new confirmed cases is approaching 50,000.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 9th, the number of confirmed cases increased by 49,567, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 1,131,248.

The number of new confirmed cases surged by 12,848 compared to the previous day (36,719), nearing 50,000. It is interpreted that the highly transmissible Omicron variant has surpassed the dominant strain and established itself as the prevailing strain, causing a rapid increase in new confirmed cases.

The number of new confirmed cases is showing a trend of approximately doubling every week. The new confirmed cases on this day are 2.4 times the 20,268 cases reported a week ago on the 2nd, and about 3.8 times the 13,008 cases reported two weeks ago on the 26th of last month. This rapid increase is due to the full impact of increased movement and face-to-face contact during the recent Lunar New Year holiday, combined with a temporary slowdown in cases over the previous weekend followed by a sharp rise during the weekdays.

The number of critically ill patients is also showing signs of increase. As of midnight on this day, the number of critically ill patients was 285, up by 17 from the previous day (268). Although the number has remained in the 200s for 12 consecutive days, it had dropped to 257 on the 4th and then rose to around 270, reaching the 280s on this day.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 increased by 21 in one day, totaling 6,943. The cumulative fatality rate stands at 0.61%. The nationwide COVID-19 severe bed occupancy rate is stable at 18.5% (470 out of 2,536 beds in use).

Additionally, as asymptomatic and mild cases rapidly increase, the number of patients receiving home treatment as of midnight on this day reached 168,020, an increase of 8,851 from the previous day (159,169).

As of midnight on this day, there are 601 medical institutions managing the health status of home treatment patients, with a total capacity to manage 183,000 patients. The ratio of patients currently being managed relative to management capacity is 76.1%.

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