COVID-19 New Cases 3,859... Severe Cases in 500s for the First Time in 54 Days (Summary)

Last Week, 2,679 New Omicron Cases Nationwide... Total 5,030 Cases

Citizens waiting to be tested at the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the 16th./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] As the Omicron COVID-19 variant begins to spread domestically, the number of critically ill patients nationwide has fallen below 600 for the first time in 54 days. The number of confirmed Omicron variant cases increased by a total of 2,679 over the past week, surpassing the cumulative 5,000 mark.

On the 17th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, there were 3,859 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 696,032. The number of new cases decreased by 334 from the previous day's 4,193, dropping to the 3,000 range for the first time in six days. Due to the spread of the Omicron variant, the number is 854 higher than the 3,005 cases reported a week ago (on the 10th).

The number of critically ill patients is on the decline. On this day, the number of critically ill patients was 579, falling into the 500s for the first time in 54 days. The utilization rate of severe care beds remains in the 30% range. The number of deaths increased by 23, bringing the total to 6,333 (cumulative fatality rate of 0.91%).

Looking at the infection routes of new confirmed cases, 3,551 were locally transmitted. Imported cases numbered 308, marking the third consecutive day with over 300 cases.

Among locally transmitted cases, Gyeonggi reported 1,351 cases, Seoul 711, and Incheon 187, totaling 2,249 cases (63.3%) in the metropolitan area. Non-metropolitan areas reported 1,306 cases (36.7%), including Gwangju 237, Daegu 171, Jeonnam 161, Jeonbuk 114, Busan 109, Gyeongnam 106, Chungnam 93, Gyeongbuk 87, Daejeon 79, Gangwon 73, Chungbuk 38, Ulsan 17, Jeju 12, and Sejong 5.

The issue is the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. From the 9th to the 15th, a total of 2,679 new Omicron infections were confirmed nationwide, with 1,363 imported cases and 1,316 domestic infections. As of midnight on the 15th, the cumulative number of Omicron infections reached 5,030.

Last week, the domestic detection rate of the Omicron variant surged to 26.7%, more than double the previous week's 12.5%. Notably, among imported cases, a staggering 94.7% were confirmed as the Omicron variant. It is analyzed that the variant is rapidly spreading in the Gyeonggi and Honam regions through cluster infections among foreign nationals, including U.S. Forces Korea.

The domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate stood at 84.8% (a cumulative total of 43,507,434 people) as of midnight on this day. The third dose vaccination rate reached 45.5% of the total population (a cumulative total of 23,354,003 people).