On the 13th, citizens visiting the COVID-19 screening clinic at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are lined up waiting for their turn for specimen testing. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has remained in the 700s for two consecutive days, pushing the total confirmed cases beyond 130,000.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) reported that as of midnight on the 14th, the total number of COVID-19 cases increased by 747 from the previous day to 130,380. Among the new cases, 729 were locally transmitted and 18 were imported.
Sixty percent of the locally transmitted cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 229 cases in Seoul (31.4%), 172 in Gyeonggi (23.6%), and 34 in Incheon (4.7%), totaling 435 cases in the metropolitan area.
In non-metropolitan areas, Jeonnam recorded the highest number of cases at 50, with a rapidly spreading cluster infection linked to a nightclub in Suncheon City. Other regions reported the following cases: 34 in Gyeongbuk, 31 in Daejeon, 28 in Gyeongnam, 26 in Ulsan, 25 in Gangwon, 24 in Busan, 22 in Chungnam, 14 in Jeonbuk, 10 in Gwangju, 10 in Jeju, 9 in Daegu, 7 in Sejong, and 4 in Chungbuk.
The weekly average of daily locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, is rapidly increasing again. The weekly average, which had been maintained in the mid-500s for some time, reached 592.4 as of this date, approaching 600.
There were 18 imported cases, with 9 detected during quarantine and 9 confirmed locally. Among them, 10 were Korean nationals and 8 were foreigners.
The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 85,838. At temporary screening centers in the metropolitan area, 37,328 tests were conducted, confirming 107 new cases, while 8,372 tests were conducted at non-metropolitan temporary screening centers, confirming 13 cases.
The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 120,395, an increase of 489 from the previous day. Among hospitalized patients, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 7 to 153. The death toll rose by 2 to 1,893.
On the 13th, vaccination candidates are waiting for their shots at the COVID-19 Dongdaemun-gu Vaccination Center set up in a gymnasium in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 7,139 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among them, 1,943 received the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine and 5,196 received the Pfizer vaccine.
This brings the total number of people who have completed their first dose to 3,719,983. Of these, 2,040,386 received the AZ vaccine and 1,679,597 received the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 7.2%.
The number of people who have completed their second dose increased by 77,987 from the previous day to 825,700. The second dose vaccination rate relative to the population is 1.6%. On the previous day, 496 people received the second dose of AZ and 77,491 received the second dose of Pfizer. The total number of people who have completed the second dose by vaccine type is 1,930 for AZ and 823,770 for Pfizer.
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