COVID-19 Cases Decline After 7 Weeks... Infectious Disease Classification Downgraded, One More Week of Review (Comprehensive)

The upward trend in new COVID-19 cases that had continued for over a month appears to have eased as of last week. However, health authorities announced that they will review the possibility of downgrading the infectious disease classification to Level 4 for one more week.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 14th, the average daily number of new COVID-19 cases over the past week from the 8th to the 14th was 49,018. This represents a 2.7% decrease compared to the previous week (50,388). The number of new COVID-19 cases, which had been increasing for six consecutive weeks, has now shifted to a downward trend. A Disease Control Agency official explained, “The rate of increase in new COVID-19 cases slowed down last week.” However, on the 9th, there were 65,699 new cases, the highest number recorded in about seven months since January 4 (78,541 cases), indicating that the risk of spread remains.

The number of critically ill patients hospitalized averaged 220 per day, an increase of 35 from the previous week (185). Deaths also rose by 48, reaching 146 compared to 98 in the same period. Concerns are emerging that severe cases may continue for some time as the summer COVID-19 wave prolongs.

Health authorities stated, “We will closely monitor the epidemic situation for one more week and then announce any changes to quarantine measures after consulting experts.”

The Disease Control Agency initially aimed to downgrade the COVID-19 infectious disease classification around mid-June but postponed the plan due to the surge in cases. If the classification is lowered from Level 2 to Level 4, COVID-19 testing will become paid, and case counting will shift from comprehensive surveillance to sample surveillance. Some in the medical community have raised concerns that the cost of testing may lead to many ‘hidden infections’ and make it difficult to estimate the total number of confirmed cases.

Regarding this, a Disease Control Agency official said, “Even if surveillance shifts from comprehensive to sample-based, we are establishing a system to effectively monitor the epidemic situation,” adding, “We are enhancing a multi-layered surveillance system including positive case monitoring and wastewater surveillance, and working to verify the consistency between comprehensive and sample surveillance.”

Additionally, health authorities planned to lift the mask mandate for hospital-level medical institutions and infection-vulnerable facilities along with the downgrade of the COVID-19 classification. However, there is a possibility that the implementation timing may be delayed due to medical opinions that COVID-19 remains severe for high-risk groups.

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