On the 8th, 19,323 new COVID-19 cases were reported, marking a 2.03-fold increase compared to the previous week. Citizens visiting the screening clinic set up at Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The number of new COVID-19 cases has risen to the 20,000 range for the first time in 45 days.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 9th, there were 20,286 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 18,491,435.
This is the first time in a month and a half that daily new cases have exceeded 20,000 since May 25 (23,945 cases).
The number of new cases on this day was 963 more than the previous day (19,323 cases). Typically, new cases tend to decrease over the weekend, but instead, they increased.
In particular, after hitting a low point on the 27th of last month and turning to an upward trend, the number of recent cases has doubled every week.
The government cited the spread of the Omicron subvariant BA.5, increased summer mobility and air conditioner use, and weakened immunity as reasons for the surge. On the 8th, it officially declared that the COVID-19 outbreak had shifted to an expansion phase.
Among the new cases on this day, 223 were imported cases, an increase of 32 from the previous day (191 cases), returning to the 200 range after three days.
By region, 11,596 cases (57.2%) were reported in the metropolitan area, and 8,690 cases (42.8%) in non-metropolitan areas.
The number of critically ill patients was 61, one less than the previous day. It has remained below 100 since the 12th of last month (98 cases).
The number of COVID-19 deaths reported the previous day was 19, an increase of 7 from the day before. The cumulative death toll is 24,624, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.13%.
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