New COVID-19 Cases Back to 300s After Three Days (Update)

314 Local Cases · 32 Imported Cases

On the 21st, market merchants are receiving COVID-19 diagnostic tests at a temporary walk-in screening clinic set up in Namdaemun Market, Jung-gu, Seoul. Jung-gu explained, "Since it is difficult for merchants to leave their shops during business hours due to sales and other operations, we collaborated with Seoul City to establish a testing site inside the market for merchants who cannot visit screening clinics." Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea recorded 346 on the 22nd. After maintaining the 400s for two consecutive days since the 20th, the number dropped to the 300s.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight on the day, 346 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed domestically, bringing the total to 74,262. Among the new confirmed cases, 314 were locally transmitted, and 32 were imported from overseas. The daily new confirmed cases, which had been maintaining the high 300s to low 400s this week, fell to the mid-300s on this day.

Among the locally transmitted cases, 113 were in Seoul, 102 in Gyeonggi, and 8 in Incheon, totaling 223 cases in the metropolitan area. In non-metropolitan areas, 23 cases were reported in Busan, 21 in Gyeongnam, 12 in Gyeongbuk, 8 in Gangwon, 7 each in Chungnam and Jeonnam, 5 in Daegu, 2 each in Gwangju, Ulsan, and Jeju, and 1 each in Daejeon and Chungbuk. No additional cases were reported in Sejong and Jeonbuk.

There were 32 imported cases. Among them, 9 were detected during quarantine, and the remaining 23 were confirmed in the local community. Of these, 22 were Korean nationals and 10 were foreigners.

Double-digit deaths occurred again on this day. The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 12 from the previous day, reaching 1,328. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 18, falling below 300. An additional 569 patients were declared recovered and released from isolation, bringing the total to 61,415.

The number of suspected cases tested on the previous day was 65,649. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 21,031 tests were conducted, confirming 55 new cases.