715 New COVID Cases 'Highest in Half a Month'... Total First Dose Vaccinations 3,711,023 (Update)

4,408 People Received First Dose Vaccination the Previous Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases has risen to the 700s, marking the largest scale in half a month.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 13th at midnight that 715 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 129,633.

Among them, 692 cases were domestic transmissions, and 23 were imported cases.

By region, Seoul reported 227 cases, Gyeonggi 222 cases, and Incheon 17 cases, totaling 466 cases in the metropolitan area.

In non-metropolitan areas, cases were reported nationwide including Ulsan with 31 cases, Gyeongnam 30 cases, Gwangju 23 cases, Gyeongbuk 22 cases, Busan 20 cases, Chungnam 19 cases, Daejeon 18 cases, Gangwon 15 cases, Jeonnam 12 cases, Chungbuk and Jeonbuk 10 cases each, Jeju 9 cases, Daegu 5 cases, and Sejong 2 cases.

Among the 23 imported cases, 14 were identified during quarantine, and the remaining 9 were confirmed in the local community. There were 17 Korean nationals and 6 foreigners.

The number of critically ill patients is 160, and the death toll increased by 7 the previous day, totaling 1,891 deaths. The number of newly released from isolation increased by 533, bringing the cumulative total to 119,906.

The number of suspected cases tested was 39,614. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 36,523 tests were conducted, confirming 150 positive cases. In non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, 9,194 tests were conducted, identifying 13 positive cases. The total number of tests conducted was 85,331.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, as of midnight on the same day, 4,408 people received new COVID-19 vaccinations, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 3,711,023. The vaccination rate for the first dose relative to the population is 7.2%.

Of these, 2,036,649 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 1,674,374 received the Pfizer vaccine.

The number of new second-dose vaccinations was 82,890, bringing the total number of people who completed the second dose to 747,707. The vaccination completion rate relative to the population is 1.5%.

Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), expressed concern at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters meeting, stating, "The infection reproduction number over the past week is 0.94, the lowest level since April, but the test positivity rate has been continuously increasing to 2.0% since the third week of March."

Deputy Head Jeon added, "The proportion of confirmed cases in the metropolitan area has remained between 60-70% for 14 consecutive weeks since January, and the infection incidence rate in some metropolitan local governments is up to four times higher than the national average of local governments," emphasizing, "We must firmly reduce infection sources through special quarantine measures."