New COVID-19 Cases Reach 300s for the First Time in 77 Days... First Dose Vaccination Rate at 23% (Update)

360 Local Cases, 39 Imported Cases

On the 10th, when Janssen vaccine administration began for reservists aged 30 to under 60, civil defense personnel, and those related to defense and diplomacy, medical staff at Kim Internal Medicine Clinic in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, are displaying the Janssen vaccine. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has fallen below 400. This is the first time in two and a half months since the end of March that the figure has dropped to the 300s.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 14th at midnight that there were 360 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 148,273. Of these, 360 were locally transmitted cases and 39 were imported cases. On the same day, the number of suspected case tests was 12,590, with 12,171 tests conducted at temporary screening clinics in the metropolitan area and 1,390 tests in non-metropolitan areas, totaling less than 30,000 tests. At the metropolitan temporary screening clinics, 65 people tested positive.

In the metropolitan area, there were 120 cases in Seoul, 113 in Gyeonggi, and 13 in Incheon. In non-metropolitan areas, the cases were recorded as follows: 23 in Chungbuk, 19 in Daegu, 13 in Gyeongnam, 10 each in Busan, Gangwon, and Daejeon, 9 in Jeju, 7 in Chungnam, 4 each in Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk, 3 in Gwangju, and 2 in Jeonbuk. No new cases were reported in Ulsan and Sejong.

The cumulative death toll from COVID-19 increased by 3 from the previous day to 1,988. The number of critically ill patients increased by 7 to 153. The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation increased by 441 to 139,022.

Due to the holiday effect, the number of new vaccinations fell below 40,000. According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, as of midnight on the same day, 27,481 people received their first dose, bringing the total number of people who have completed the first dose to 11,833,810. The number of people who completed vaccination increased by 11,774 to a total of 3,004,029. Among the target population for the Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose (978,480 people), 578,529 have been vaccinated, resulting in a vaccination rate of 59.1%. The vaccination rate relative to the population is 23% for the first dose and 5.9% for completed vaccination.

The number of reported suspected adverse reactions following COVID-19 vaccination increased by 2,213 over two days since the 13th, reaching a cumulative total of 47,003. Newly reported adverse reactions include 12 suspected cases of anaphylaxis, 69 neurological adverse reactions, and 6 deaths.