New COVID-19 Cases at 87,559, Highest in 98 Days... Severe Cases in 500s (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 21st at midnight that 87,559 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 28,396,460 cases.

The number of new cases increased by 613 from the previous day (87,559), marking the highest daily count in 98 days since September 14 (93,949). Compared to a week ago on the 14th (84,553), the number rose by 3,619, clearly showing an upward trend in the 7th wave.

The number of critically ill patients hospitalized was 512, a decrease of 7 from the previous day. The number of critically ill patients has remained in the 500s for four consecutive days.

There were 59 additional deaths reported. The cumulative death toll stands at 31,549, with a fatality rate of 0.11%.

The detection rate of the BN.1 variant domestically rose to 20.3% in the second week of December. This is 3.6 times higher than the 5.7% recorded in the third week of November.

As of midnight on the same day, the additional winter vaccination rate was 28.3% for those aged 60 and over, and 47.5% for infection-vulnerable facilities, falling short of the government’s target rates of 50% and 60%, respectively.

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