New COVID-19 Cases at 346... Over 300 for Four Consecutive Days

2047 Additional Vaccine Doses Administered... Total 316,865
223 Additional Adverse Reaction Reports... 3 Deaths

Medical staff are busy moving at the COVID-19 walk-through screening clinic set up at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has remained in the 300s for four consecutive days.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 8th at midnight that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 346 from the previous day to 92,817.

The sources of infection for the new confirmed cases were 335 local transmissions and 11 imported cases.

About 70% of the locally transmitted cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 97 cases in Seoul (29.0%), 128 in Gyeonggi (38.2%), and 15 in Incheon (4.5%), with a total of 240 cases in the metropolitan area, accounting for 71.6% of all confirmed cases.

In other regions, new confirmed cases were reported as follows: 20 in Chungbuk, 14 in Gwangju, 14 in Chungnam, 12 in Busan, 10 in Gangwon, 6 in Daegu, 6 in Jeonnam, 4 in Jeonbuk, 3 in Ulsan, 3 in Jeju, 2 in Gyeongbuk, and 1 in Sejong. No new cases were reported in Daejeon and Gyeongnam.

There were 11 imported cases. Among them, 5 were detected during quarantine, and 6 were confirmed in the community. Five were Korean nationals and six were foreigners.

The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 83,474, an increase of 254 from the previous day. Among the hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 6 to 128 compared to the previous day. The death toll rose by 8 to 1,642.

On the previous day, 33,875 diagnostic tests were conducted for suspected cases. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 15,192 tests were performed, confirming 346 new cases.

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 2,047 additional people received COVID-19 vaccinations, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 316,865. Among them, 311,583 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 5,282 received the Pfizer vaccine.

There were 226 additional reports of suspected adverse reactions, bringing the total to 3,915. Among the new reports, 223 were mild cases such as headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and 3 were death cases.