Daily New COVID-19 Cases at 511... Back to 500s After Two Days

Citizens who visited the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station on the 9th are lining up to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has risen back to the 500s after two days.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 11th at midnight that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 511 from the previous day to 128,283. Among the new cases, 483 were locally transmitted and 28 were imported from overseas.

Among the locally transmitted cases, 64% occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 163 cases (33.7%) in Seoul, 127 cases (26.3%) in Gyeonggi, and 20 cases (4.1%) in Incheon, totaling 310 cases in the metropolitan area.

Other regions reported the following new cases: 23 in Jeju, 23 in Gwangju, 20 in Incheon, 19 in Ulsan, 18 in Chungnam, 15 in Gyeongbuk, 13 in Busan, 12 in Gangwon, 12 in Jeonbuk, 10 in Jeonnam, 9 in Gyeongnam, 8 in Daegu, 7 in Daejeon, and 4 in Chungbuk. Sejong reported no new cases.

The weekly average of daily locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, remained in the mid-500s at 548 cases.

There were 28 imported cases. Among them, 12 were detected during quarantine, and 16 were confirmed in the community. Eleven were Korean nationals and 17 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 89,668. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 38,296 tests were conducted, confirming 63 new cases. In non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, 9,147 tests were conducted, confirming 15 new cases.

The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 118,171, an increase of 873 from the previous day. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients increased by 10 to 171. The death toll rose by 4 to 1,879.

Medical staff are busy preparing Pfizer vaccines at the COVID-19 vaccine storage center in the Yongsan-gu Vaccination Center, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 8,341 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 3,692,566. Among them, 2,025,401 received the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, and 1,667,165 received the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 7.2%.

The number of people who completed the second dose increased by 77,551 from the previous day to 584,013. The vaccination rate for the second dose relative to the population is 1.1%.

The KDCA implemented a policy from the 10th to release statistics on adverse reactions after vaccination three times a week instead of daily. Accordingly, the tally of suspected adverse reaction reports as of midnight on Tuesday was not disclosed.