Never-ending Omicron

[Unfinished COVID-19]
Confirmed cases in the 6,000s... Single-digit deaths

But concerns of resurgence anytime
Due to continuous emergence of new variants
And declining immunity levels also worrisome

A citizen is undergoing a PCR test at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Seoul Station, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has dropped to the 6,000 range for the first time in over four months. The number of critically ill patients and deaths has also significantly decreased, indicating that the Omicron variant pandemic is coming to an end.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 30th, as of midnight, the number of new confirmed cases was 6,139. This marks the first time in 129 days since January 21 that the figure has fallen to the 6,000 range. Compared to March 17, when new cases reached 620,000, this is about one one-hundredth of that number. The number of critically ill patients was 178, maintaining the 100-range for three consecutive days since the 28th. The operation rate of intensive care unit beds dedicated to severe patients was only 12.7%. Notably, the number of deaths was 9, marking a single-digit figure for the first time in 210 days since November 1 of last year.

However, there are concerns that the resurgence could come at any time, so vigilance must not be relaxed. The greatest risk is new variants. The United States, which experienced the Omicron pandemic earlier than Korea, has seen the subvariant BA.2.12.1 become dominant, pushing the weekly average of confirmed cases over 100,000. In Korea, not only BA.2.12.1 but also other subvariants such as BA.4 and BA.5 continue to be detected. Moreover, natural immunity from the Omicron pandemic peak in March is rapidly weakening after 3 to 4 months, and resistance to additional vaccine doses is increasing, which is also a cause for concern.

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