COVID-19 Deaths Under Age 10 Are Patients with Underlying Conditions... Cause of Death Unknown (Update)

The first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Omicron variant have been reported in Seoul. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 7th, three foreign students enrolled at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Kyung Hee University, and Seoul National University were found to be infected with the Omicron variant. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies will operate facilities such as libraries, which were part of the infected students' movement paths, on a limited basis until the 11th, and all classes will be switched to online format until the 14th. The photo shows the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies campus on that day. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The second death among COVID-19 confirmed cases under the age of 10 in South Korea has been reported, and health authorities are investigating the cause of death.

On the 7th, Park Young-jun, head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated during a background briefing, "The confirmed case aged 0-9 who died yesterday had underlying health conditions. Symptoms appeared on the 25th of last month, and the individual was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 2nd of this month. The patient died during hospitalization."

Park explained, "The cause of death is unknown, and the exact cause has not yet been confirmed. We plan to verify the cause by securing medical records and other documentation." He added, "The bereaved family currently requires absolute stability."

In response to a question about whether the death could have been prevented if the deceased had been vaccinated against COVID-19, Ko Jae-young, spokesperson for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "It is difficult to evaluate based on the assumption of vaccination. The types of underlying conditions will be explained after review by the Death Case Classification Committee."

Meanwhile, the first death under the age of 10 in South Korea occurred on the 28th of last month. The individual’s health deteriorated, and they died after visiting the emergency room; COVID-19 was confirmed posthumously.

On the 22nd of last month, a fetus born deceased tested positive for COVID-19, but since it was a stillbirth and no birth registration was made, authorities excluded it from the death statistics.