COVID-19 New Cases Reach 600s in One Day... 8 More Deaths Reported (Comprehensive)

Seoul 249 Cases, Gyeonggi 164 Cases... Confirmed Cases Reported in All 17 Cities and Provinces Nationwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] On the 19th, the number of new COVID-19 cases rose to the 600s in a single day, continuing the spread.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight on this day, there were 654 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 133,471.

This is an increase of 126 cases compared to the previous day (528 cases). The daily new cases over the past week from the 13th to this day were 715 → 747 → 681 → 610 → 619 → 528 → 654.

With an average of about 651 cases per day over the week, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the average daily locally transmitted cases, stands at about 628, which still falls within level 2.5 (nationwide 400?500 or more cases).

Among the new cases on this day, 637 were locally transmitted and 17 were imported. The metropolitan area accounted for 427 cases (67.0%), including 245 in Seoul, 159 in Gyeonggi, and 23 in Incheon.

The remaining 210 cases (33.0%) were reported in Busan and Ulsan with 27 each, Gyeongbuk 24, Daegu 23, Chungbuk 21, Gangwon, Gyeongnam, and Chungnam with 16 each, Daejeon and Jeonnam with 10 each, Jeonbuk 9, Gwangju and Jeju with 4 each, and Sejong 3.

Major cluster outbreaks were confirmed in multi-use facilities such as singing practice rooms and entertainment establishments.

In the metropolitan area, 41 cases were linked to a singing practice room in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 11 cases at a boarding house in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and 19 cases in a family-friend cluster in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi.

In Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, 15 cases were confirmed related to a large supermarket, and in Wonju, Gangwon, 18 infections have been reported so far linked to an entertainment establishment.

There were 17 imported cases, 5 fewer than the previous day (22 cases). India accounted for the most with 3 cases, followed by Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Zambia with 2 cases each, and China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, the United States, and Egypt with 1 case each. Among them, 7 were Korean nationals and 10 were foreigners.

The number of deaths increased by 8 from the previous day, totaling 1,912. The domestic average fatality rate is 1.43%.

The number of critically ill patients totaled 148, down 8 from the previous day (156). As of this day, 606 patients were released from isolation, bringing the total to 123,237, and the number of patients currently in isolation treatment increased by 40 to a total of 8,322.