"Suspension of Quarantine Pass and New Semester Opening" ... New COVID-19 Cases Surpass 200,000 Today

As of 9 PM the previous night, 204,960 people counted
It took only 12 days to go from 100,000 to 200,000

On the 1st, when 138,993 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] The daily new COVID-19 cases surged to over 200,000 due to the Omicron variant outbreak.

According to local governments, from midnight to 9 p.m. on the 1st, a total of 204,960 COVID-19 cases were reported across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This is an increase of 71,043 cases compared to 133,917 cases during the same time frame the previous day.

Accordingly, the number of new confirmed cases announced at midnight on the 2nd is expected to increase further to the mid-200,000 range or higher.

The 'weekend effect,' where the number of tests and confirmed cases decrease, has disappeared, and with testing numbers on Monday, the 28th of last month, returning to weekday levels, the confirmed cases appear to have exploded.

The positivity rate as of midnight the previous day was 40.5%, surpassing 40% for the first time. This means 4 out of 10 people tested were confirmed positive.

Since Omicron became the dominant strain in Korea, daily confirmed cases first reached the 10,000 range on January 26, then rose to 20,000 on February 2, 30,000 on February 5, 40,000 on February 9, and exceeded 50,000 on February 10. Six days later, on February 16, cases jumped to the 90,000 range, and on February 18, they reached 100,000.

It took 23 days to go from 10,000 to 100,000 cases, but only 12 days to increase from 100,000 to 200,000 cases.

The health authorities, synthesizing forecasts from multiple research institutions, predict that new cases will exceed 230,000 on the presidential election day, March 9. However, predictions on the peak of the outbreak vary among institutions, ranging from 265,000 new cases on March 15 to 354,000 cases on March 12.

Along with the increase in confirmed cases, the number of critically ill patients is also expected to exceed 1,200 on March 9 and possibly reach over 2,750 on March 16.

As of midnight the previous day, 1,324 out of 2,744 severe COVID-19 hospital beds nationwide were in use, resulting in an occupancy rate of 48.3%.

Meanwhile, from the previous day, the vaccine pass requirement was lifted for all multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes nationwide, and unvaccinated family members living with confirmed cases are exempt from quarantine. Additionally, with elementary, middle, and high schools reopening nationwide from this day, there is heightened concern over managing pediatric and adolescent confirmed cases.

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