Daily New Cases Exceed 100,000 for Five Consecutive Days, Reaching 110,000... 1.35 Times Higher Than Previous Week
Overseas Inflow at 573, Second Highest Ever
On the 2nd, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, the screening clinic at Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul was crowded with citizens. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
As the resurgence of COVID-19 continues, the number of new confirmed cases has been exceeding 110,000 per day. The number of critically ill patients has remained in the 300s for three consecutive days, and the number of deaths has surpassed 40 for two consecutive days, reaching the highest levels in the past two months.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 6th, as of midnight that day, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 110,666, bringing the total cumulative cases to 20,383,621.
The number of new cases decreased by 2,235 from the previous day (112,901), but has remained above 100,000 for five consecutive days since the 2nd. Compared to a week ago on the 30th of last month (81,981), it is 1.35 times higher, and compared to two weeks ago on the 23rd (68,532), it is 1.61 times higher. On a Saturday basis, this is the highest number in 17 weeks since April 9 (185,532).
The daily new cases over the past week from the 31st of last month to this day were 73,559 → 44,659 → 111,764 → 119,899 → 107,894 → 112,901 → 110,610, averaging 97,335 per day.
The health authorities expect the peak of the COVID-19 resurgence to be lower than initially anticipated, around 150,000 to 200,000 cases, but foresee the wave lasting somewhat longer. In particular, they expressed concern that the immune evasion capability of the BA.5 variant, which has become dominant domestically, is superior to previous variants, potentially increasing reinfection rates among those previously infected (confirmed cases).
Jeong Gi-seok, Chair of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, stated the day before, "The strong immune evasion ability of BA.5 makes an increase in reinfections inevitable," adding, "The domestic reinfection rate exceeds 5%, and in some other countries, it surpasses 10%."
Among the new cases reported that day, 573 were imported cases, the second highest since the onset of COVID-19 in the country. Imported cases have consistently remained above 400 this month, with a record high of 595 cases (revised from an initial 600) reported on the 4th.
With daily new cases exceeding 100,000, the numbers of critically ill patients and deaths continue to rise.
The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized was 313, down by 7 from the previous day, but it has remained in the 300s for three consecutive days following 310 on the 4th and 320 on the 5th. This is 1.29 times higher than a week ago on the 30th (242) and 2.24 times higher than two weeks ago on the 23rd (140). The previous day’s count of 329 critically ill patients was the highest in 79 days since May 18 (313). Among critically ill patients, 271 (86.6%) were aged 60 or older.
The number of deaths due to COVID-19 was 45, two fewer than the previous day (47). The death toll announced on the 5th was the highest in 75 days since May 22 (54). Among the deceased, 28 (62.2%) were aged 80 or older, 10 (22.2%) were in their 70s, 5 in their 60s, 1 in their 50s, and 1 in their 30s.
As of now, the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths stands at 25,236, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.12%. The occupancy rate of critical care beds is 35.3% (596 out of 1,686 beds in use), up 2.6 percentage points from the previous day (32.7%). The occupancy rate of semi-critical beds also rose to 54.4% from 51.8% the day before, and the occupancy rate of moderate care beds is 41.4%.
The health authorities note that while the overall trend of increasing confirmed cases is slowing, critically ill patients and deaths are expected to continue rising for the next one to two weeks with a time lag. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, explained at a briefing the day before, "Although the total scale of the outbreak has grown, causing a slight increase in deaths, the overall fatality rate is decreasing," but added, "Management and efforts to reduce the increasing number of deaths are necessary."
As of midnight that day, 566,856 confirmed cases were under home treatment, an increase of 107,224 from the previous day. There are 13,636 respiratory patient care centers nationwide treating COVID-19 patients, of which 9,594 are one-stop clinics providing testing, prescription, and treatment services.
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