New COVID-19 Cases Remain in Mid-600s for Second Day... Speeding Up Second Vaccine Doses (Update)

619 Local Cases, 27 Imported Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea remained in the mid-600s for the second consecutive day.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 20th at midnight that the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases increased by 646, bringing the total to 134,117. Of these, 619 were locally transmitted cases, and 27 were imported cases. There were 18,714 suspected case tests, 17,520 tests at temporary screening centers in the metropolitan area, and 5,139 tests at temporary screening centers outside the metropolitan area, totaling just over 40,000 tests, maintaining the number of cases in the 600s. Notably, 115 and 17 confirmed cases were detected at the metropolitan and non-metropolitan temporary screening centers, respectively, totaling 132 cases.

By region, Seoul reported 238 cases, Gyeonggi 183, and Incheon 13, with many cases in the metropolitan area. Outside the metropolitan area, cases were reported across the country including 33 in Gyeongbuk, 25 in Ulsan, 19 in Chungnam, 17 in Busan, 15 in Gwangju, 13 in Chungbuk, 12 in Gyeongnam, 9 in Daegu, 8 each in Sejong and Gangwon, 7 each in Daejeon and Jeonbuk, and 6 each in Jeonnam and Jeju.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 4 from the previous day to 1,916. The number of critically ill patients increased by 3 to 151. The number of patients who were declared recovered and released from isolation increased by 422, reaching 123,659.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team reported that as of midnight on the same day, 1,783 new first-dose vaccinations were administered, bringing the total number of people who completed the first dose to 3,760,940. Among the new first-dose recipients, 108 received the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,675 received the Pfizer vaccine. The number of new second-dose vaccinations was 92,694, with 540 receiving AstraZeneca and 92,154 receiving Pfizer. The vaccination rate relative to the population was 7.3% for the first dose and 2.5% for completed vaccinations.