New COVID-19 Cases Exceed 40,000... 'Halloween, Variants, and Winter' Are Coming

40,000 New COVID-19 Cases in 34 Days
Medical System May Face Instability if Flu Patients Also Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] As the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 40,000 for the first time in 34 days, there is a possibility that the upward trend in cases will continue. This is due to the upcoming Halloween, the increase in variants, and seasonal factors related to winter.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 25th, as of midnight, the number of new COVID-19 cases was 43,759, an increase of 10,536 compared to a week ago. This is the highest number since the 41,264 cases reported on the 21st of last month.

The recent increase in cases is also reflected in other quarantine indicators. The weekly number of cases from the 17th to the 23rd was 174,036, showing an increase for the first time in nine weeks. The reproduction number for the third week of this month, provisionally calculated by the health authorities, was 1.09, also exceeding 1 for the first time in nine weeks. A reproduction number above 1 indicates the spread of the epidemic, while below 1 indicates containment.

The problem is that there are multiple factors that could accelerate the COVID-19 epidemic. First, there is Halloween Day (October 31), which is approaching at the end of this month. Since this is the first Halloween after the lifting of social distancing and the outdoor mask mandate, and it falls on a weekend, many people are expected to gather in areas like Itaewon Street. If COVID-19 occurs among the younger population who tend to move around more, it could spread more rapidly.

The new variants spreading rapidly overseas are also variables in the start of the seventh wave. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of the 22nd, the dominant BA.5 variant in the U.S. has decreased to 62.2%, while BA.4.6 accounts for 11.3%, and BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7 have increased to 9.4%, 7.2%, and 6.7%, respectively. In particular, BQ.1.1's share doubled in one week. These variants have all been detected domestically as well. Experts and health authorities are monitoring the transmission patterns of these variants overseas.

As winter approaches, seasonal conditions favorable for virus survival are being created. With colder weather, indoor environments tend to become 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings), and people's immunity tends to decline during this period. There are also concerns that the simultaneous spread of respiratory infections such as influenza and RSV could complicate responses to COVID-19. Professor Baek Soon-young, emeritus at the Catholic University School of Medicine, explained, "If the number of elderly patients hospitalized increases due to the combined effect of COVID-19 and influenza patients, the healthcare system could become unstable."

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