New Confirmed Cases 280,273, Over 300,000 in Four Days... "1,299 Critically Ill"

360 Deaths, Cumulative Fatality Rate 0.12%
Social Distancing Eased to 10 People and Midnight from the 4th

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The number of new COVID-19 cases fell below 300,000 for the first time in four days. Although the number of confirmed cases has started to decline, the number of deaths and critically ill patients remains at a high level.

As of midnight on the 1st, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 280,273, bringing the total cumulative cases to 13,375,818. This is a decrease of 40,470 from the previous day (320,743), dropping below 300,000 for the first time in four days since the 28th of last month (187,182 cases).

While the scale of confirmed cases is gradually decreasing, it is still too early to be complacent. This is because the peak in critically ill patients and deaths typically appears 2 to 3 weeks after the peak in confirmed cases. The stealth Omicron variant (BA.2) is becoming dominant domestically, and the fact that nearly 20% of confirmed cases are among the high-risk elderly population aged 60 and above is also a risk factor.

Although new confirmed cases have shifted to a downward trend, the number of deaths and critically ill patients remains high. As of midnight, the number of critically ill patients was 1,299, down by 16 from the previous day (1,315), but still close to 1,300.

The number of deaths was 360, a decrease of 15 from the previous day (375). Over the past week, daily deaths were 323 → 282 → 287 → 237 → 432 → 375 → 360, averaging 328 per day. The cumulative death toll stands at 16,590, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.12%.

As the number of critically ill patients increases, hospital bed occupancy rates are also approaching the 70% range. The total number of COVID-19 hospital beds is 52,584, with occupancy rates of 64.4% for critical care beds, 68.0% for semi-critical beds, and 42.0% for moderate care beds. The operation rate of residential treatment centers is 22.8%.

As of midnight, the number of patients receiving home treatment was 1,708,930, of which 171,439 are in the intensive management group.

Meanwhile, with the announcement of eased social distancing measures on this day, the limit on private gatherings will be expanded from 8 to 10 people starting from the 4th. Operating hours for multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes will also be extended by one hour, from the current 11 p.m. to midnight.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the government Seoul office this morning, "If the medical system is stably managed while reducing critical cases and deaths over the next two weeks, we will boldly reform the remaining social distancing and other quarantine measures next time."

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