1,776 New Confirmed Cases... 40 Critical Patients Surge in One Day (Update)

1717 Local Cases, 59 Imported Cases
692 Cases Outside Capital Region... Exceeding 40% of Total

On the 4th, 1,725 new COVID-19 cases were reported, returning to the 1,700 range after five days. Citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza are waiting to be tested. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases has remained in the four digits for a month, keeping the spark of the fourth wave from dying out.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the 5th, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,776 from the previous day, reaching a total of 205,702. There were 1,717 locally transmitted cases and 59 imported cases. More than half of the locally transmitted cases are still concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, where the number of new cases exceeded 1,000. Gyeonggi reported 475 cases, Seoul 461, and Incheon 89.

Notably, the spread in non-metropolitan areas is increasing. There were 692 confirmed cases in non-metropolitan areas alone, accounting for 40.3% of the total. Two regions recorded triple-digit daily cases. Daegu had the highest number of cases in non-metropolitan areas with 120, and Busan reported 111 cases. Other regions reported the following: Gyeongnam 81, Daejeon and Chungnam 70 each, Gyeongbuk 59, Chungbuk 45, Gangwon 30, Jeju 23, Jeonnam 20, Jeonbuk 19, Gwangju 17, Sejong 14, and Ulsan 13.

There were 59 additional imported cases. Among them, 33 were detected during quarantine, and 26 were confirmed locally. Of these, 39 were Korean nationals and 20 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day slightly decreased to 139,141. Temporary screening clinics in the Seoul metropolitan area conducted 79,166 tests, confirming 328 positive cases, while non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics tested 15,784 people, confirming 97 cases.

With the increase in confirmed cases, the number of critically ill patients is also rapidly rising. The number of critically ill patients increased by 40 in one day, reaching 369. The cumulative death toll rose by 3 from the previous day, totaling 2,109.

Meanwhile, according to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, 164,924 people received their first vaccine dose the previous day. The cumulative number of first-dose recipients reached 20,336,252, with a vaccination rate of 39.6%. Among them, 109,665 people completed their vaccination, bringing the total number of fully vaccinated individuals to 7,402,059. The proportion of fully vaccinated people relative to the population was 14.4%.