On the 28th, to prevent the domestic influx of the COVID-19 variant 'Omicron' spreading across South Africa, the government banned entry from eight African countries. This is a view of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport.
[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases recorded in the 3,000 range on the 29th.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on that day, the cumulative number of domestic COVID-19 cases increased by 3,309 from the previous day to 444,200. There were 3,286 domestic cases and 23 imported cases.
By region, Seoul reported 1,386 cases, Gyeonggi 905 cases, and Incheon 233 cases, totaling 2,524 cases (76.8%), indicating that the spread is continuing mainly in the metropolitan area.
Non-metropolitan areas reported a total of 762 cases (23.2%), including Busan 144, Daegu 87, Gyeongnam 85, Gyeongbuk 67, Gwangju 61, Gangwon 55, Chungnam 50, Jeonbuk 49, Daejeon and Jeju 43 each, Chungbuk 33, Jeonnam 28, Sejong 15, and Ulsan 2.
Among the 23 imported cases, 3 were detected during quarantine, and 20 were confirmed in the local community.
The number of severe cases currently hospitalized remained in the 600s at 629.
The death toll increased by 32 from the previous day, reaching a total cumulative death toll of 3,580. The fatality rate is 0.81% accordingly.
On the 28th, the temporary COVID-19 screening clinic at Seoul Plaza is crowded with citizens seeking testing. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@
According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, 965 people received their first dose the previous day, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 42,511,121. The vaccination rate for the first dose relative to the population is 82.3%. Among those aged 18 and over, 93.2% have completed the first dose.
The number of people who completed vaccination the previous day was 2,126, bringing the total number of fully vaccinated individuals to 40,495,533. The vaccination rate for fully vaccinated individuals relative to the population is 82.8%, and 93.4% for those aged 18 and over.
The number of people who received additional doses (booster shots) the previous day was 2,561, with a total of 2,845,397 having received booster shots.
Kwon Deok-cheol, 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), stated, "Today (29th), a special quarantine inspection meeting will be held presided over by the President to announce quarantine measures regarding the current situation." The government plans to hold the special quarantine inspection meeting presided over by the President at 2 p.m. and subsequently announce special quarantine measures through a briefing at 5 p.m.
Regarding the Omicron variant, Minister Kwon said, "To proactively respond to the emergence of the Omicron variant following the Delta variant, starting from midnight on the 28th, entry bans have been imposed on short-term foreign visitors from eight African countries including the Republic of South Africa, and domestic residents and long-term foreign visitors will undergo 10 days of facility quarantine."
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