COVID-19 'Severe Cases' Reach Highest in Two Months... 'Fatality Rate' Rises Again After Three Months

New COVID-19 Cases Growth Slows, Severe Cases at 465
Fatality Rate Rises from 0.04% in July to 0.07% in October
Deaths Increase by 35, Total Domestic Deaths Exceed 30,000
Infectious Disease Advisory Committee: "Vaccination Reduces Post-Infection Sequelae"

On October 11th, travelers wearing masks are moving inside the domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] While the increase in new COVID-19 cases has slowed, the number of critically ill patients hospitalized has surged to the highest level in over two months. The monthly COVID-19 fatality rate, which hit its lowest point in July, has nearly doubled again in three months.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 22nd, as of midnight on the 21st, the number of new confirmed cases was 23,091, down 22,920 from the previous day (46,011). The number of confirmed cases sharply dropped to about half due to a decrease in weekend testing, but it was also 674 fewer than a week ago (the 14th). Accordingly, the daily new confirmed cases have continued to decline for four consecutive days compared to the previous week since the 18th.

However, the number of critically ill patients increased by 14 from the previous day (451) to 465. This is the highest number in two months since September 21, when there were 494 critically ill patients. The number of critically ill patients has been over 300 for 18 consecutive days since the 4th of this month, and has exceeded 400 for three consecutive days since the 19th, continuing to rise.

The death toll also increased by 35 just the previous day. With daily deaths exceeding 60 from the 17th to the 19th, the cumulative number of deaths in the country surpassed 30,000 as of the 20th.

Meanwhile, the monthly COVID-19 fatality rate, which had dropped to 0.04% in July when the 6th wave of resurgence began last summer, rose to 0.06% in August and then to 0.07% again in September and October. The fatality rate once soared to 2.87% in the early days of COVID-19 but has fluctuated and decreased with each resurgence. This is because the virulence of variant viruses has relatively weakened over time, and citizens' immunity has increased through vaccination. Currently, the domestic COVID vaccine first and second dose coverage rates are 87.9% and 87.1%, respectively, and the third dose coverage rate is 65.7%.

However, even as the summer resurgence peaked in August and subsided after September, the monthly fatality rate slightly increased. Considering that signs of the 7th wave of resurgence appeared from late October, with critically ill patients and deaths rising again, the fatality rate is expected to continue increasing after November. In particular, the 4th dose vaccination rate, which can affect the suppression of the epidemic during this period, is only 14.8%, and the winter vaccine coverage rate is just 5.9%.

Jung Ki-seok, head of the COVID-19 Special Response Team and member of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, said, "The number of people suspected of having COVID-19 but not confirmed because they do not get tested is increasing day by day," adding, "Although the increase in confirmed cases last week was somewhat weak, the trend of continuous increase until the previous week is reflected in the rise of critically ill patients." Jung also said, "Vaccination has research results showing great effects not only in reducing the number of critically ill patients and deaths but also in decreasing sequelae such as myocardial infarction and stroke," and "If the winter vaccination rate is increased and antiviral drugs are actively prescribed, the current daily death toll of around 40 can be reduced by about 30%, that is, by about 10 people per day."

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