COVID-19 Cumulative Cases Reach 19 Million... Infection Clock Accelerates

57 Days After Surpassing 18 Million on May 25

On the 21st, citizens are waiting to get tested at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Jung-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] As the COVID-19 resurgence began, the cumulative number of confirmed cases, which had been maintained at around 18 million, surpassed 19 million. It has been 57 days since the cumulative confirmed cases exceeded 18 million on May 25.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 21st, 71,170 new COVID-19 cases were reported that day, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 19,009,080.

As the Omicron wave gradually subsided around March 17 during February and March of this year, the rate of increase in cumulative confirmed cases slowed down. The cumulative confirmed cases, which reached 15 million on April 9, increased by increments of 1 million approximately every week, two weeks, one month, and two months. Six days after surpassing 15 million, on April 15, the number exceeded 16 million, and 11 days later, on April 26, it reached 17 million. It took 29 days to reach 18 million on May 25.

With the resurgence, the speed of increase by increments of 1 million is expected to accelerate. During the Omicron wave, the cumulative confirmed cases increased by 1 million every two to three days. For example, two days after surpassing 10 million on March 23, the number reached 11 million on the 25th, and three days later, on the 28th, it exceeded 12 million.

In neighboring Japan, the current spread of Omicron BA.5 has resulted in a larger scale of confirmed cases than during the BA.1 and BA.2 waves. According to NHK on the 20th, Japan recorded a record high of 152,536 new COVID-19 cases that day. If a resurgence of a similar or greater scale than in March occurs domestically, as in Japan, it is possible that 1 million cases could be reported again within two to three days.

The main factor behind the accelerating increase in cumulative confirmed cases is the spread of the new variant BA.5. Since COVID-19 was introduced to Korea in January 2020, resurgences have occurred roughly every 5 to 6 months whenever a new variant emerged. Currently, the BA.5 variant, which has high transmissibility and immune evasion, is increasing its share overseas, leading to a rise in global confirmed cases. According to the WHO on the 20th (local time), as of the 17th, the global share of BA.5 was 53.3%, up 1.5 percentage points from 51.8% the previous week.

The lifting of social distancing measures in April and the easing of overseas entry and exit restrictions are also likely contributing factors. Since the 8th of last month, the government has relaxed regulations, including lifting quarantine requirements for overseas arrivals regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, and removed restrictions on the number of aircraft arrivals per hour at Incheon Airport. As a result, the number of imported confirmed cases has exceeded 100 daily since the 26th of last month, reaching a record high of 429 on the 20th.

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