COVID-19 Risk Level 'Very High'... Stealth Omicron Detection Rate at 22.9%

Risk Level Maintains 'High' for 6 Weeks Before Rising to 'Very High'
Stealth Omicron Detection Rate at 22.9%

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The government raised the nationwide COVID-19 risk level to the highest stage, 'Very High,' last week (2.27~3.5).

The Central Disease Control Headquarters conducted a weekly risk assessment for the first week of March (2.27~3.5) and evaluated the nationwide, metropolitan area, and non-metropolitan areas all at the very high level. The headquarters had diagnosed the COVID-19 risk level nationwide as 'High' for six consecutive weeks from the third week of January (1.16~1.22) to the previous week (2.20~2.26), but it was elevated by one level last week.

The intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy rate rose nationwide, in the metropolitan area, and in non-metropolitan areas, reaching the highest level since the fifth week of December. In particular, the non-metropolitan areas have continued a steep upward trend over the past month. The ICU bed occupancy rate in non-metropolitan areas for the first week of March was 62.6%, a sharp increase of 12.5 percentage points from the previous week. During the same period, the ratio of cases relative to medical capacity also rose to 132.2% in non-metropolitan areas, up 38.2 percentage points from the previous week.

The detection rate of the Omicron variant in domestic infection cases was 100.0% as of midnight on the 5th, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous week. Among imported cases, 99.2% were also the Omicron variant. The detection rate of the Omicron sub-lineage 'BA.2,' known as 'Stealth Omicron,' was 22.9% in domestic infection cases and 47.3% among imported cases.

Regarding the characteristics of 'BA.2,' Jeong Eun-kyeong, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), explained, "According to the World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation, BA.2 may have about 30% higher transmissibility compared to BA.1. However, it is necessary to monitor how much this will impact the situation." She added, "Regarding clinical severity, several countries have conducted severity assessments related to 'BA.2,' and so far, there is no significant difference in severity. We will continue to monitor and review this aspect."

The average daily number of new domestic COVID-19 cases in the first week of March was 197,249, an increase of 42.0% (58,347 cases) compared to the previous week, maintaining an upward trend for six consecutive weeks with both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas rising approximately 1.5 to 2 times each week. The weekly effective reproduction number (Rt) decreased by 0.16 from the previous week, standing at 1.30 nationwide, 1.26 in the metropolitan area, and 1.35 in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of deaths in the first week of March was highest among those aged 60 and above, with 846 deaths (93.9%), followed by 47 deaths (5.2%) in the 40s and 50s age group, and 8 deaths (0.9%) in the 20s and 30s age group.

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