COVID-19 New Cases Stay in the 90,000s for Two Consecutive Days... Severe and Critical Cases Surge by 76 Compared to Previous Day

On the 17th, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, citizens waited for rapid antigen tests in the freezing cold at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases has exceeded 90,000 for two consecutive days, indicating a rapid spread of the pandemic.

On the 17th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 93,135 to a total of 1,645,978. Among the new cases, 93,045 were locally transmitted. In the Seoul metropolitan area, there were 19,678 cases in Seoul, 28,438 in Gyeonggi, and 7,235 in Incheon, totaling 55,351 cases (59.5%).

Cases outside the metropolitan area were ▲Busan 6,216 ▲Daegu 4,199 ▲Gwangju 2,608 ▲Daejeon 2,702 ▲Ulsan 1,691 ▲Sejong 656 ▲Gangwon 1,727 ▲Chungbuk 2,166 ▲Chungnam 3,013 ▲Jeonbuk 2,567 ▲Jeonnam 1,892 ▲Gyeongbuk 2,898 ▲Gyeongnam 4,477 ▲Jeju 882, totaling 37,694 cases (40.5%). Imported cases numbered 90.

The number of critically ill patients hospitalized increased sharply by 76 from the previous day to 389, maintaining the 300s for four consecutive days. Deaths increased by 36, bringing the cumulative total to 7,238. The cumulative fatality rate stands at 0.44%. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the nationwide COVID-19 severe bed occupancy rate was 28.5%, and 28.0% in the metropolitan area, showing a continuous upward trend.

Meanwhile, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate reached 86.2% (a cumulative total of 44,261,075 people) as of midnight. The third dose vaccination rate reached 58.3% of the total population (a cumulative total of 29,898,777 people).

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