Rising Infection Reproduction Number Leads to 'Doubling'... Accelerating COVID Re-Yuhaeng

Infection Reproduction Number Rises for 6 Consecutive Weeks
Above 1.0 for 3 Consecutive Weeks
KDCA: "Increase Continues Due to BA.5 Variant"

Lee Gi-il, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), is briefing the results of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held on the morning of the 20th at the Government Seoul Office in Sejong-ro, Seoul, where additional measures to address the increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases were discussed.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the number of new confirmed cases on the 20th recorded over 70,000 for the second consecutive day. The doubling phenomenon has continued for three weeks, and the infection reproduction number (Rt), an indicator of the epidemic trend, is also rising.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 20th, as of midnight, the number of new confirmed cases was 76,402. This is an increase of 2,820 cases compared to the previous day (73,582 cases). This is the highest number recorded in 84 days since April 27 (76,765 cases).

The 'doubling' phenomenon, where the number of new confirmed cases roughly doubles every week, has continued for three weeks since the beginning of this month. Compared to a week ago on the 13th (40,252 cases), the number of new confirmed cases has increased by 1.9 times, and compared to two weeks ago on the 6th (19,360 cases), it has increased by 3.9 times.

The infection reproduction number is also on the rise. The infection reproduction number indicates how many people one patient infects around them; if it is 1 or higher, it means the epidemic is spreading. According to the CDCH briefing on the 19th, the infection reproduction number for the second week of July (June 10?16) rose by 0.18 from the previous week to 1.58. It has been rising for six consecutive weeks since the second week of June and has recorded 1.0 or higher for three consecutive weeks since the fifth week of June.

The government has strengthened its response system related to the rapidly increasing confirmed cases. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced additional measures, including expanding one-stop medical institutions by 10,000, securing an additional 4,000 COVID-19 hospital beds, and introducing additional treatments.

Lee Ki-il, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), said at the briefing that "Although we announced the quarantine and medical response plan on the 13th, the spread of the BA.5 variant virus is faster than initially expected," adding, "The number of confirmed cases at the peak is predicted to increase to around 300,000."

Regarding the supply issue of self-diagnostic kits, he said, "We will strengthen the management of diagnostic kit supplies," and "We will enable real-time tracking of diagnostic kit stocks at convenience stores nationwide through an app and temporarily exempt the reporting requirement for diagnostic kit sales until September 30, allowing all convenience stores to sell diagnostic kits."

He also stated, "There is still capacity in hospital bed utilization, and PCR tests can handle up to 850,000 tests per day. The current stock of oral antiviral treatments is enough for 773,000 people, which is sufficient even if 200,000 new cases occur per day."

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