60,168 New COVID-19 Cases... Intensifying '7th Wave' (Update)

On the 22nd, as the winter resurgence of COVID-19 continued, citizens were getting tested at the screening clinic of Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 23rd at midnight that 68,168 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 28,534,558.

Although the number of new cases decreased for two consecutive days compared to the highest record in 98 days on the 21st (88,172 cases), it increased by 1,215 cases compared to a week ago on the 16th (66,953 cases), indicating that the "7th wave" continues.

The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized was 530, down by 17 from the previous day (547), which was the highest in 100 days. However, the number of critically ill patients has remained in the 500s for six consecutive days.

There were 63 additional deaths reported. The cumulative death toll stands at 31,674, with a fatality rate of 0.11%.

As of midnight, the additional winter vaccination rate was 28.8% for those aged 60 and over and 48.9% for infection-vulnerable facilities, both falling short of the government’s targets of 50% and 60%, respectively.

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