"Weekend Effect Passes, Surge Resumes" ... New COVID-19 Cases Surpass 150,000

By 9 PM Last Night, About 158,000 People... Around 160,000 by Midnight
Due to 'Doubling' Effect, Could Soon Exceed 200,000

On the 22nd, when 99,573 new COVID-19 cases were reported, citizens who visited the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza were waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Due to the Omicron variant surge, the daily number of new COVID-19 cases soared to around 160,000.

According to local governments on the 23rd, from midnight to 9 p.m. the previous day, a total of 158,005 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported across 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

Compared to 97,935 cases recorded by 9 p.m. on the 21st, this is an increase of 60,070 cases, jumping sharply into the 150,000 range. Including additional cases recorded until midnight, the new cases announced that day are expected to approach or exceed 160,000.

New cases surpassed 20,000 on the 2nd, then 30,000 on the 5th, 40,000 on the 9th, 50,000 on the 10th, 90,000 on the 16th, and 100,000 on the 18th. They maintained a range of 90,000 to 100,000 over the past week before surging dramatically in just one day.

This surge is attributed to the recovery of diagnostic testing volumes at public health centers and other screening clinics to weekday levels starting Monday the 21st, following the weekend. On the 19th (Saturday) and 20th (Sunday), diagnostic tests conducted at screening clinics were approximately 212,000 and 296,000 respectively, but on the 21st, testing doubled to 580,000.

The positivity rate among those tested reached 33.7%, meaning one in three tested positive. The positivity rate has sharply increased from 21.7% on the 19th, 23.5% on the 20th, 30.6% on the 21st, to 33.7% on the 22nd, indicating widespread Omicron transmission in the community. Additionally, about half of the infected individuals are asymptomatic, suggesting a significant number of 'hidden infections' unknowingly spreading the virus in daily life.

With new cases nearly doubling weekly, predictions suggest that daily cases could exceed 200,000 by the end of this month if this trend continues. Domestic and international research institutions forecast that the Omicron wave in Korea will peak by the end of this month or next, with daily new cases at the peak ranging from 140,000 to 270,000. Infectious disease experts also expect that the maximum number of confirmed cases detected by PCR tests could reach about 200,000 per day.

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