COVID-19 Death Toll Nears 20,000... 'Doubling' Within a Month

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in South Korea is approaching 20,000. It doubled within a month after surpassing 10,000 on the 12th of last month.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 12th, 171 COVID-19 deaths were reported the previous day, bringing the total number of deaths to 19,850. This year alone, 14,287 people have died, accounting for about 72% of all COVID-19 deaths.

This is attributed to the surge in cases and deaths due to the spread of the Omicron variant since February. COVID-19 deaths were 1,192 in January and 1,303 in February, but surged to 8,172 last month. From the beginning of this month to the 12th, 3,620 deaths were reported, exceeding the combined deaths of January and February.

The sharp increase in COVID-19 deaths is also reflected in the cumulative confirmed cases trend. It took one year (until January 5, 2021) for cumulative deaths to reach 1,000 since the first COVID-19 case in South Korea on January 20, 2020, and another year (until December 23, 2021) to reach 5,000 deaths. Then, within three months, cumulative deaths surpassed 10,000, and within another month, approached 20,000.

The number of deaths in March alone (8,172) exceeds the number of cancer deaths, which had been the leading cause of death in South Korea. According to the Statistics Korea cause of death statistics, the average monthly cancer deaths in the second half of 2020 were 7,071.

Currently, weekly indicators including COVID-19 deaths and confirmed cases are considered to have peaked. On the 11th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, “Severe cases and deaths from COVID-19 are gradually decreasing, and we believe the peak period has passed.” Weekly death trends have been declining since the fourth week of March. COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population peaked at 2.61 in the second week of March, 3.79 in the third week, 4.87 in the fourth week, and decreased to 4.48 in the fifth week.

However, the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence has not completely disappeared. Experts explain that the BA.2 variant, known as Stealth Omicron, could lead to a “double peak” epidemic pattern like in other countries or slow down the decline in confirmed cases. Son said, “There is a possibility of a double peak epidemic, but in South Korea, BA.2 is replacing BA.1, resulting in a prolonged overall epidemic.”

The domestic introduction of the XE variant, a recombinant of BA.1 and BA.2, also needs to be monitored. The XE variant has recently been detected in the UK, Taiwan, and has also been confirmed in Japan.

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