Due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the number of new confirmed cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time on the 26th, and citizens are visiting a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases surpassed 16,000, setting a new record for the highest number for the fourth consecutive day.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 28th at midnight that the number of new confirmed cases increased by 16,096 from the previous day, bringing the total to 793,582. The number of new cases jumped from 14,515 the day before to over 16,000 in one go.
Previously, the daily new cases were 8,570 on the 25th, then entered the 10,000 range for the first time on the 26th with 13,010 cases, followed by 14,515 on the 27th, and then increased again to 16,096 in just one day. Notably, the new cases on this day were nearly 2.5 times the 6,767 cases reported a week earlier on the 21st, and more than 3.5 times the 4,538 cases from two weeks earlier on the 14th.
Accordingly, the average daily number of new cases over the past week exceeded 10,000 for the first time. From the 22nd over the course of a week, new cases were 7,005 → 7,626 → 7,511 → 8,570 → 13,010 → 14,515 → 16,096, averaging about 10,619 cases per day.
The number of deaths increased by 24 in one day, bringing the total to 6,678. However, the number of critically ill patients decreased by 34 from the previous day to 316.
Experts expect the total number of confirmed cases to continue rising for about 1 to 2 months due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Professor Jeong Jae-hoon of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University College of Medicine said, "The number of confirmed cases is expected to increase for about 5 to 8 weeks going forward," adding, "While the peak varies depending on predictive models, most experts anticipate it to exceed 100,000 cases."
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