62,000 New COVID-19 Cases... "Cases per Population Higher than Peak in Major Countries"

621,328 New Confirmed Cases as of Midnight on the 17th
Number of Cases Higher than Peak in Major Countries like the US and UK

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The number of new COVID-19 cases has surpassed 600,000, setting record highs day after day. South Korea ranks overwhelmingly first in the world for new cases, and when compared to the peak sizes of major countries, the scale of confirmed cases per population in South Korea is also high.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 17th at midnight that the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 621,328, bringing the total confirmed cases to 8,250,592. This is an increase of 220,617 from the previous day (400,711).

With cases rising sharply every day, South Korea currently records the highest number of new cases worldwide. According to the global statistics site Worldometer, as of the 16th (local time), South Korea ranked first in daily new confirmed cases. It has at least 120,000 more cases than Germany (275,807), which is second, and Vietnam (180,558), which is third.

Since last week, South Korea has held the number one spot globally for confirmed cases. According to the weekly epidemiological report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the week of the 7th to the 13th, South Korea reported 2,100,171 new confirmed cases, the highest worldwide. This was followed by Vietnam (1,670,627), Germany (1,350,362), the Netherlands (475,290), and France (419,632).

The health authorities state that it is difficult to compare with other countries that have already passed their epidemic peaks at this point, but looking only at the peak, the scale of the Omicron wave in South Korea is high. According to Our World in Data, countries that passed their Omicron peak before South Korea had daily new confirmed cases (7-day average) per 1 million population as follows: the United States 2,425 (January 15), the United Kingdom 2,681 (January 5), and France 5,436 (January 25). However, South Korea, which has not yet reached its peak, had 6,730 as of the 15th.

The health authorities emphasize again that minimizing severe cases and deaths is more important than the scale of confirmed cases. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a regular briefing the previous day, "The number of confirmed cases at the epidemic peak is comprehensively influenced by the country's diagnostic capacity, the total scale of previous epidemics and cumulative confirmed cases, and vaccination rates." He added, "We emphasize that minimizing severe cases and deaths is the most important rather than the scale of confirmed cases." He also said, "Comparing the number of deaths per 100,000 population, according to data reported to the WHO on March 7, the United States had 285 deaths, France 208, the United Kingdom 237, while South Korea had 17." He continued, "This is roughly one-tenth the level, indicating that our country's quarantine system is producing better outcomes in minimizing severe cases and deaths."

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