New COVID-19 Cases Over 300,000 for Three Consecutive Days... Record High 1,158 Severe Cases

Citizens waiting to be tested at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the 13th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the daily new COVID-19 cases have remained in the 300,000 range for three consecutive days, the number of critically ill patients hospitalized reached a record high of 1,158, indicating that the spread of the virus continues unabated.

On the 14th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 309,790 to a total of 6,866,222. Although this is about 40,000 fewer than the previous day due to the weekend holiday effect, the number has remained in the 300,000 range for three consecutive days, showing that the spread continues. Compared to the same day last week (210,709), the number increased by 99,081.

The number of critically ill patients hospitalized reached a record high of 1,158. The previous record was 1,151 on December 29 of last year, when the spread peaked after the implementation of the "gradual recovery to daily life (With COVID-19)" policy. After surpassing 1,000 on the 8th with 1,007 patients, the number has continued to rise steadily. The utilization rate of COVID-19 severe care beds as of midnight also showed a continuous upward trend, with 66.8% nationwide and 63.6% in the metropolitan area. In particular, in non-metropolitan areas, 607 out of 815 beds were occupied, pushing the utilization rate up to 74.5%.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 was 200. However, as confirmed cases surged rapidly, the cumulative fatality rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points from the previous day to 0.15%.

The number of patients under home treatment also increased to 1,611,174. Among them, 245,869 are in the intensive management group. On the previous day alone, 316,771 people were newly classified as home treatment patients, increasing the total number of home treatment patients by 42,852 compared to the previous day.

The infection routes of new confirmed cases include 309,728 local transmissions. In the metropolitan area, Seoul reported 56,807 cases, Gyeonggi 77,420, and Incheon 18,238, totaling 152,465 cases (49.2%). Non-metropolitan confirmed cases were ▲Busan 27,756 ▲Daegu 12,406 ▲Gwangju 8,334 ▲Daejeon 8,290 ▲Ulsan 5,336 ▲Sejong 2,139 ▲Gangwon 9,044 ▲Chungbuk 8,324 ▲Chungnam 12,329 ▲Jeonbuk 11,168 ▲Jeonnam 10,933 ▲Gyeongbuk 12,615 ▲Gyeongnam 23,762 ▲Jeju 4,827, totaling 157,263 cases (50.8%). Imported cases numbered 62.

Meanwhile, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate recorded 87.5% (a cumulative total of 44,907,445 people) as of midnight on the same day. The third dose vaccination rate reached 62.6% of the total population (a cumulative total of 32,102,960 people).

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