Gyeongnam, Over 5,000 New Weekend Cases... No More Hand-Holding in Nursing Hospitals

Gyeongnam Provincial Government. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Over the weekend, more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Gyeongnam Province.

According to the province, 3,517 cases were reported on the 23rd and 1,947 cases on the 24th, totaling 46,670 confirmed cases in July alone.

One person in their 90s and one person in their 80s died, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 1,264, with a cumulative mortality rate of 0.11%.

The total cumulative number of confirmed cases in the province is 1,150,917, with 37 hospitalized patients and 23,660 receiving home treatment. Among them, 7 are in critical condition, and 1,125,956 have completed treatment and been discharged.

A provincial official added that as of midnight on the 25th, there are 77 beds available for COVID-19 patients in the province, of which 38 are in use and 39 remain available.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of the same day, there were 35,883 new confirmed cases and a cumulative total of 19,247,496 confirmed cases nationwide.

Of these, 35,540 cases were domestic, and 343 were imported from overseas.

There are 144 critically ill patients and 17 deaths, bringing the cumulative death toll to 24,890.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases of the BA.2.75 subvariant of the Omicron variant, also known as the ‘Kentauros’ variant, is 4.

In response to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the government has strengthened the PCR testing deadline for overseas entrants, which had been relaxed to within 3 days as of June 3.

From the 25th, people entering the country must undergo PCR testing within one day of entry, and if testing on the day of entry is not possible due to entry time, testing must be completed by the next day.

Among entrants, Korean nationals and long-term foreign residents can receive free testing at health centers in charge of their homes or accommodations.

The government has also reimposed a ban on in-person visits to nursing hospitals and facilities and will restrict outings and overnight stays of residents except for essential outpatient care.

Caregivers and other workers must undergo weekly PCR testing unless they have received a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose within the past 3 months or have recovered from COVID-19 within the past 45 days.