The Day Before, 254,327 New COVID-19 Cases... Cumulative Total Surpasses 4 Million

On the 4th, the number of new COVID-19 cases surged by about 70,000 in one day to 266,853. Citizens are lining up in long queues at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station to get tested. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Amid the rapid increase in confirmed cases due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the number of new confirmed cases reached 250,000 on the 5th. The number of COVID-19 deaths was 216 the previous day, marking the first time since the outbreak that daily deaths exceeded 200.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on that day, the number of new confirmed cases increased by 254,327, bringing the total to 4,212,652.

The new confirmed cases were 12,526 fewer than the previous record high of 266,853 announced the day before, but 1.5 times higher than the 166,200 cases reported a week earlier on the 26th of last month. The cumulative confirmed cases surpassed 4 million just five days after exceeding 3 million on the 28th of last month.

Since the first confirmed case in South Korea on January 20, 2020, it took 748 days (2 years and 18 days) to exceed 1 million cumulative cases on February 6 this year. However, the spread rapidly accelerated, reaching 2 million cases on February 21, just 15 days later, 3 million on February 28, 7 days after that, and 4 million on the 5th, only 5 days later.

As the COVID-19 outbreak has not yet reached its peak, some research institutions expect up to 350,000 cases per day. Accordingly, it is expected to reach 5 million cases within a few days.

With the start of in-person classes for elementary, middle, and high schools and the easing of social distancing, the operating hours of 12 types of multi-use facilities, including restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues, coin karaoke rooms, and bathhouses, have been extended by one hour from 10 PM to 11 PM starting that day, which may accelerate the increase in confirmed cases.

As confirmed cases surge, deaths and critically ill patients are also rapidly increasing. The number of deaths the previous day was 216, 30 more than the day before, marking the highest daily death toll.

The cumulative death toll is 8,796, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.21%. By age group, those aged 80 and above accounted for the most deaths at 136, followed by 44 in their 70s, 21 in their 60s, 9 in their 50s, and 4 in their 40s. There was also one death each in the 30s and 20s age groups. The number of critically ill patients increased by 99 from 797 the previous day to 896.

The number of critically ill patients exceeded 400 on the 19th of last month and approached 900 within two weeks. There is a forecast that the number of critically ill patients could increase to between 1,700 and 2,750 this month.

More than half of the COVID-19 intensive care beds are currently in use. As of midnight on that day, the utilization rate of severe care beds was 53.5% (1,469 out of 2,747 beds in use), up 3 percentage points from 50.5% the previous day. The utilization rate in the metropolitan area was 49.6%, while the rate outside the metropolitan area was higher at 62.6%.

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