Citizens are waiting to get tested at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] On the 4th, 629 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were identified in South Korea. Following the cluster infections centered around the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, the daily confirmed cases in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions have surged back into the 600s for the first time in over nine months since March 3, when daily cases reached 600, indicating the continued spread of the third wave.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, as of midnight on this day, there were 600 locally transmitted cases and 29 imported cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 36,332. It has been 276 days since the daily new cases exceeded 600, last occurring on March 3.
The daily domestic confirmed cases have been over 300 every day since the 19th of last month, except for one day (November 23, with 271 cases). Among the 15 days with over 300 cases, there were three days in the 400s, five days in the 500s, and one day in the 600s. The triple-digit daily cases above 100 have continued for 27 consecutive days from the 8th of last month to this day.
On this day, among the locally transmitted cases, 291 were in Seoul, 155 in Gyeonggi, and 17 in Incheon, totaling 463 cases in the metropolitan area. Of the 29 imported cases, 18 were detected during quarantine, and the remaining 11 were identified in the community. Among them, 12 were Korean nationals and 17 were foreigners.
The number of patients who have been declared recovered and released from isolation increased by 259 from the previous day to 28,611. Seven confirmed patients died, raising the cumulative death toll from 529 to 536.
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