'84 Foreigners Confirmed in Dongducheon' Impact... 218 New Cases Confirmed in Gyeonggi Province (Update)

426 Local Cases, 18 Imported Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] On the 3rd, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases recorded 444. This marks a rise back to the 400s after four days since the end of last month.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight on this day, 444 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 90,816. Regarding the infection routes, 426 cases were locally transmitted, and 18 were imported from overseas.

Following the positive diagnosis of about 80 foreign workers in Dongducheon City the previous day, 218 cases were confirmed in Gyeonggi Province alone. In Seoul and Incheon, 116 and 19 cases were confirmed respectively, totaling 353 cases in the metropolitan area. In non-metropolitan regions, cases were reported as follows: Chungbuk 19, Busan 8, Gangwon 6, Daegu, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongbuk 5 each, Sejong, Chungnam, Gyeongnam, and Jeju 4 each, Gwangju and Jeonnam 3 each, Daejeon 2, and Ulsan 1.

There were 18 imported cases. Among them, 2 were identified during quarantine, and the remaining 16 were confirmed in the local community. Both Koreans and foreigners accounted for 9 cases each.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 6 from the previous day, reaching 1,612. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 6 to 129 compared to the previous day. The number of patients who were declared recovered and released from isolation increased by 362, totaling 81,700.

With the end of the March 1st holiday, the number of tests significantly increased. On this day, the number of diagnostic tests reported due to suspicion was 34,227, and 30,422 tests were conducted at temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area. Including the Dongducheon cases, a total of 113 confirmed cases were identified at metropolitan temporary screening clinics.

As of midnight on this day, 63,644 people received additional COVID-19 vaccine doses. This brings the total number of people who completed the first dose to 87,428 in five days. Among them, 85,904 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 1,524 received the Pfizer vaccine.