COVID-19 New Cases 66,587, Up About 4,000 from Last Week... Vaccination Rate 3.9% (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 16th at midnight that 66,587 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total cumulative number of confirmed cases to 26,357,464.

The number of new cases on this day decreased by 6,296 from the previous day (72,883), which had surpassed 70,000 for the first time in about two months. However, it increased by 4,119 compared to a week ago on the 9th (62,468) and by 11,853 compared to two weeks ago on the 2nd (54,734), indicating a clear resurgence trend during the winter season.

The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized is 411, remaining in the 400s for the third consecutive day. The intensive care unit bed occupancy rate is 34.0%, and the occupancy rate of moderate care beds in infectious disease-dedicated hospitals is 26.9%. There were 39 COVID-19 related deaths reported the previous day, with a fatality rate of 0.11%.

The health authorities expressed concern over the low additional vaccination rate despite the seventh major wave of COVID-19 and are encouraging vaccination participation among high-risk groups aged 60 and above. At a briefing on the 14th, Jeong Gi-seok, head of the COVID-19 Special Response Team and member of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, stated, “The additional winter vaccination rate for high-risk groups should be at least 60%, which is the rate for the fourth dose, and those aged 70 and above should receive 100% additional vaccination.”

As of midnight on this day, the additional winter vaccination rate is 3.9% of the population. It is 11.4% for those aged 60 and above, and 0.5% for those aged 18 to 59.

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