340,000 COVID-19 Cases on Presidential Election Day 'Record High'... "Entering Peak of the Outbreak" (Comprehensive)

Daily New Cases Surpass 200,000, Quickly Exceed 300,000 Within a Week
Cumulative Cases Exceed 5 Million... Home Treatment Patients Near 1.22 Million

On the 9th, the day of the 20th presidential election, residents who visited the No. 1 polling station in Seokchon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, are waiting to vote. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the 9th, the day of the 20th presidential election, the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 340,000, marking the highest ever recorded. The cumulative number of confirmed cases also surpassed 5 million in just over 2 years and 1 month (779 days) since the first COVID-19 case was reported in South Korea. Experts expect the COVID-19 outbreak to have reached its peak and anticipate passing the absolute peak within about two weeks.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the same day, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 342,446, bringing the total cumulative cases to 5,212,118.

The number of new cases surged by 139,726 compared to 202,720 cases reported on the previous day, the 8th. Typically, the number of PCR tests decreases on Saturdays and Sundays, leading to fewer new cases, but the number of cases surges again starting Wednesday, reflecting Monday's testing volume.

The number of new cases on this day was 1.6 times that of a week ago on the 2nd (219,227 cases) and about twice that of two weeks ago on the 23rd of last month (171,450 cases).

The cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassed 4 million on the 5th and exceeded 5 million just four days later. The cumulative cases surpassed 1 million on February 6th this year, 748 days (2 years and 18 days) after the first domestic case on January 20, 2020. Following the spread of the Omicron variant, the numbers rapidly increased to 2 million on February 21, 3 million on February 28, 4 million on the 5th of this month, and now over 5 million. Currently, approximately 1 in 10 people in the country has contracted COVID-19.

The health authorities initially predicted, based on projections from multiple domestic research institutions, that new cases would exceed 230,000 on the 9th. There is also a forecast that the outbreak will peak at up to 354,000 cases on the upcoming weekend, the 12th.

However, these forecasts were made before the removal of the vaccine pass and partial easing of social distancing measures. Professor Jeong Jae-hoon’s team from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University College of Medicine initially predicted that the outbreak would peak in mid-March with a maximum of 260,000 to 270,000 new cases. But after several policy relaxations were announced, they analyzed via Facebook yesterday that the absolute peak would likely be passed within about two weeks starting from the 9th.

Due to the surge in confirmed cases, the number of critically ill patients continues to rise. The number of critically ill patients recorded on this day was 1,087, an increase of 80 from the previous day (1,007). Authorities expect the number of critically ill patients to rise to between 1,700 and 2,750 by mid to late this month.

ICU bed occupancy is also rapidly increasing. As of midnight on this day, the nationwide COVID-19 severe bed occupancy rate was 59.1% (1,625 out of 2,751 beds in use), approaching 60%. The occupancy rate for semi-critical beds, which treat patients whose condition may improve or worsen, was 63.8%.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 reported the previous day was 158. The cumulative death toll stands at 9,440, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.18%.

As of midnight on this day, the number of patients under home treatment was 1,218,536. Considering that about 25% of new cases recently are among those aged 18 and under, it is estimated that approximately 910,000 of the home-treated patients are voters aged 18 and over. In addition to those under home treatment, patients hospitalized in hospitals, residents of life treatment centers, overseas arrivals in quarantine, and close contacts in vulnerable facilities who did not participate in early voting on the 4th and 5th can participate in the COVID-19 confirmed patient voting starting from 6 p.m. on this day.

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