"Doubling Every Week" ... The Accelerated Re-Yuhaeng

37,360 New Confirmed Cases
Tomorrow's Announcement on Extension of Isolation Requirements and Other Measures

On the 12th, when 37,360 new COVID-19 cases were reported, marking the highest number in 62 days, citizens lined up at a screening clinic set up at Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 37,000, marking the highest level in over two months. As the resurgence spreads faster than expected and the 'doubling' phenomenon?where the number of cases doubles every week?becomes more evident, the government is set to announce measures to respond to the resurgence on the 13th.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 12th, as of midnight, the number of new confirmed cases was 37,360, the highest in 62 days since May 11, when 43,908 cases were reported. On Tuesdays, the number of cases nearly doubled from 9,894 on the 28th of last month to 18,136 on the 5th of this month, and then increased again by 2.1 times on this day.

The number of critically ill patients hospitalized had remained between 50 and 60 until last week but rose to 71 the day before and 74 on this day. The number of patients receiving home treatment, which had consistently been below 100,000, reached 108,022 as of midnight the day before and 116,563 on this day.

The National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, which advises the government on quarantine policies, held its first meeting on the evening of the 11th to discuss measures to respond to the resurgence. Based on the results, the government plans to announce quarantine and medical system response measures on the 13th, including extending the isolation requirement for confirmed cases. They are also considering expanding the fourth vaccination dose for seniors aged 60 and above and immunocompromised individuals.

Jeong Gi-seok, chairman of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee and professor of respiratory medicine at Hallym University College of Medicine, said, "Now, rather than blocking transmission, we need to focus on minimizing damage by protecting high-risk groups and strengthening medical response capabilities to suppress severe cases and deaths as much as possible."

President Yoon Seok-yeol received a briefing on the situation from Baek Kyung-ran, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and instructed, "Under a scientific COVID-19 quarantine policy, collaborate responsibly as one team centered on the quarantine authorities."

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