New COVID-19 Cases Reach 500s After One Week...Total 3.74 Million First Vaccine Doses Administered (Update)

Local cases at 506, imported cases at 22

On the morning of the 3rd, a medical worker at Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul is aliquoting the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 18th, the number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea was recorded at 528. This marks a decrease of nearly 100 cases compared to the previous day, dropping to the 500s for the first time in a week since the 11th (511 cases).

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) reported that as of midnight, there were 528 new confirmed COVID-19 cases domestically, bringing the total to 132,818. Regarding the infection routes, 506 cases were locally transmitted, and 22 were imported from overseas. On the same day, the number of suspected case tests was 41,704; tests conducted at temporary screening clinics in the metropolitan area numbered 35,158; and tests at temporary screening clinics outside the metropolitan area were 4,976. A total of 64 confirmed cases were identified at temporary screening clinics, with 58 in the metropolitan area and 6 in non-metropolitan areas.

By region, many confirmed cases were reported in the metropolitan area: 169 in Seoul, 134 in Gyeonggi, and 16 in Incheon. In non-metropolitan areas, cases were reported across all regions: 25 in Gangwon, 23 in Daegu, 21 in Gyeongbuk, 15 each in Chungnam and Gyeongnam, 13 each in Busan and Chungbuk, 12 each in Daejeon and Jeonnam, 11 in Gwangju, 10 in Jeju, 7 in Jeonbuk, 6 in Ulsan, and 4 in Sejong.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 5 from the previous day, reaching 1,884. The number of critically ill patients decreased by 4 to 167. Additionally, 656 patients were newly declared recovered and released from isolation, bringing the total to 119,373.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team reported that as of midnight, 12,006 new first-dose vaccinations were administered, bringing the total number of people who have completed the first dose to 3,745,934. Among these, 2,047,406 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 1,698,528 received the Pfizer vaccine. The number of new second-dose vaccinations increased by 98,948, totaling 1,039,642 to date. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 7.3% for the first dose and 2% for those fully vaccinated.