293 COVID-19 Deaths in a Day 'Highest Ever'

Even Patients with Perjury Symptoms Remain in the 1,000s on the 8th Day

On the 13th, citizens waiting to get tested at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The highest number of critically ill patients and deaths since the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in just over two years.

As of midnight on the 15th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hospitalized was 1,196, an increase of 38 from the previous day (1,158). This set a new record high. The number of critically ill patients has remained in the four digits for eight consecutive days since rising to the 1,000s on the 8th.

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 was 293, also the highest since the domestic outbreak began. Among the deceased, 64.5% (189) were aged 80 or older, 19.8% (58) were in their 70s, and 10.9% (32) were in their 60s. There were also 2 deaths among children aged 9 or younger. Deaths have continued to rise, remaining in the 200s for six consecutive days since the 10th. The cumulative death toll stands at 10,888, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.15%.

New confirmed cases increased by 362,338 from the previous day, bringing the total to 7,228,550. Compared to the previous day's new cases (309,784), the daily increase grew by more than 52,000. From the previous day, individuals who tested positive on professional rapid antigen tests conducted at local clinics and hospitals were confirmed as COVID-19 cases without additional PCR testing, and thus were included in the case statistics for the day.

The number of new confirmed cases on this day was 1.8 times that of a week ago on the 8th (202,711) and about 2.6 times that of two weeks ago on the 1st (138,990).

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