COVID-19 New Cases Double in a Week... 2.6 Times Increase Among Those Aged 60 and Over

On the 11th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases remained in the 50,000 range for the second consecutive day at 53,926, citizens were receiving rapid antigen tests at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the number of new confirmed cases last week doubled compared to the previous week. About a month ago, daily confirmed cases were at the level of 3,000 to 4,000, but after the Omicron variant became the dominant strain in Korea, the number of new confirmed cases has roughly doubled every week, recently exceeding 50,000 cases per day.

The number of critically ill patients remains in the 200s, but the number of confirmed cases among those aged 60 and over, considered a vulnerable group to infection, is increasing, causing health authorities to remain vigilant.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 13th, as of midnight, the number of new confirmed cases in Korea was 56,431. This is the highest number in 755 days since the COVID-19 outbreak began in January 2020. It is about 1,500 more than the previous day’s record high of 54,941.

The daily confirmed cases first exceeded 10,000 on January 26 with 13,007 cases, the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea. A week later, on February 2, the number surpassed 20,000 with 20,268 cases. Three days later, on February 5, it reached the mid-30,000s with 36,345 cases, and on February 10, it exceeded 50,000 with 54,121 cases. Last week (February 6?12), the average daily number of locally transmitted cases was 46,040, double the 22,655 cases of the previous week.

Despite the rapid increase in confirmed cases, the number of critically ill patients remains in the 200s. Last week, the average daily number of critically ill patients was 275, similar to 272 the previous week. This is less than half the number during the Delta variant wave in the second week of January (January 9?15), when the average daily critically ill patients numbered 732. Last week, the utilization rate of severe care beds was 18.7%, maintaining a stable state below 20% following 15.8% the previous week. The average daily number of deaths increased to 27 from 21 the previous week.

Authorities expect that the daily number of confirmed cases could reach 170,000 by the end of this month. The National Institute for Mathematical Sciences projects that the daily confirmed cases could reach up to 360,000 in early next month. Authorities are concerned about the increasing number of confirmed cases among those aged 60 and over, who have relatively higher rates of severe illness and fatality.

Last week, the average daily confirmed cases among those aged 60 and over was 5,383, about 2.6 times the 2,075 cases of the previous week. The proportion of confirmed cases aged 60 and over increased from 8.8% the previous week to 11.7% last week. This is attributed to cluster infections in nursing hospitals and elderly care facilities.

To minimize damage, health authorities have shifted the quarantine system to early detection and treatment of high-risk infected groups. Since the 3rd, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing has been conducted first for high-risk groups such as those aged 60 and over and family members of confirmed cases, while those not prioritized for testing receive PCR tests if rapid antigen tests are positive. Since the 10th, home treatment patients have been divided into a 'focused management group,' including those aged 60 and over, and a 'general management group.' The focused management group undergoes health monitoring twice daily.

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