COVID-19 New Cases 187,213, Below 200,000 for the First Time in 25 Days...Critical Cases at 'Record High'

Cumulative Confirmed Cases 12 Million, Deaths 287, Total Deaths Exceed 15,000
Severe Bed Occupancy Rate 70.0%
Home Treatment Patients 1.83 Million, Intensive Care Group About 260,000

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The daily new COVID-19 cases dropped by 130,000 in just one day, falling below 200,000 for the first time in 25 days. However, the number of critically ill patients reached a record high, pushing the critical care bed occupancy rate up to 70%.

As of midnight on the 28th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that there were 187,213 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total cumulative cases to 12,003,054. This is a sharp decrease of 130,917 cases compared to the previous day (318,130). It is the first time in 25 days since the 3rd (198,799 cases) that the number has fallen below 200,000.

Although new cases have decreased, deaths and critically ill patients continue to rise. As of midnight, the number of critically ill patients reached 1,273, marking an all-time high. This is 29 more than the previous record of 1,244 on the 16th. It also increased by 57 compared to the previous day (1,216), maintaining the number of critically ill patients in the 1,000s since the 8th.

The number of deaths rose by 5 to 287 compared to the previous day (282). The cumulative death toll stands at 15,186, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.13%.

As the number of critically ill patients increases, bed occupancy rates are also rising. The total number of COVID-19 beds available is 52,868, with occupancy rates of 70.0% for critical care beds, 70.3% for semi-critical beds, and 45.8% for moderate care beds. The occupancy rate for residential treatment centers is 24.3%. The critical care bed occupancy rate rose by 2.2 percentage points from the previous day (67.8%), with non-metropolitan areas showing an even higher rate of 75.9%.

As of midnight, the number of patients under home treatment was 1,837,291, of which 259,810 are in the intensive management group.

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on the same day, Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "After 11 weeks, the Omicron wave has passed its peak and is gradually declining," but added, "The increase in critically ill patients and deaths may fully manifest 2 to 3 weeks after the peak, so we cannot be complacent."

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