New COVID-19 Cases at 71,170... Severe Cases in 100s for the First Time in 40 Days (Update)

107 Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized
17 New COVID-19 Deaths Reported

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 Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The number of new COVID-19 cases remained in the 70,000 range for the third consecutive day. The cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassed 19 million, and the number of critically ill patients rose to the 100s for the first time in 40 days.

On the 21st, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, 71,170 new domestic COVID-19 cases were added, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 19,009,080.

The number of new cases decreased by 5,250 from the previous day (76,420). Although the number of imported cases had reached a record high the day before, it dropped to 320 on this day. However, this is about 1.8 times higher than a week ago on the 14th (39,182), indicating that the doubling phenomenon continues.

The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized was 107, marking the first time since the 11th of last month that the figure reached the 100s. The nationwide critical care bed occupancy rate is 17.4%, with 16.8% in the metropolitan area and 19.5% in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of new COVID-19 deaths was 17, an increase of 5 from the previous day. Among them, 11 were aged 80 or older, 4 were in their 70s, and one each in their 50s and 60s. The cumulative death toll is 24,794, with a fatality rate of 0.13%.

As of midnight, the fourth-dose vaccination rate among those in their 50s was 2.4%. The fourth-dose vaccination rate for immunocompromised individuals, those with underlying conditions, residents and workers in nursing hospitals and facilities, and those under 50 in psychiatric health promotion facilities was 21.4%.

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