Increase in Confirmed Cases Expands... 1.34 Times Compared to Last Week
Severe and Critical Care Bed Occupancy Rate at 38.5%
On the 7th, citizens are waiting for testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the same day, there were 105,507 new confirmed cases. The number of confirmed cases has exceeded 100,000 for six consecutive days. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the COVID-19 resurgence continues, the number of confirmed cases on weekdays increased from 110,000 to 150,000 within a week.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 9th, as of midnight that day, 149,897 new COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the total cumulative cases to 20,694,239.
The number of new confirmed cases that day surged by 94,605 compared to the previous day (55,292), which reflected the weekend effect. This is the highest number since April 13, when the Omicron wave peaked and began to decline, with 195,387 cases.
From the 3rd to the recent week, the daily new confirmed cases were 119,889 → 107,869 → 112,901 → 110,666 → 105,507 → 55,292 → 149,897. The number of cases on this day is 1.34 times that of a week ago on the 2nd (111,758) and 1.51 times that of two weeks ago on the 26th of last month (99,246).
The 'doubling' phenomenon, where the number of confirmed cases doubles every week, has eased, but compared to August 2, when the number of cases increased by 1.24 times compared to the previous week, the weekly increase rate has slightly risen.
Health authorities and experts expect the COVID-19 resurgence this summer to peak as early as this week or at the latest within this month and then enter a declining phase. However, due to the holiday season from late July to early August, large-scale confirmed cases are expected to continue for some time, prolonging the wave.
Jung Ki-seok, Chair of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, emphasized the importance of vaccination again during a briefing the previous day, stating, "Recently, reinfection rates among previously confirmed COVID-19 patients have increased, and with the rise in confirmed cases among children and adolescents, deaths have occurred, necessitating more in-depth analysis."
Among the new confirmed cases that day, 588 were imported cases, an increase of 106 from the previous day (482). Imported cases have maintained a high level of 400 to 500 since the beginning of this month.
The number of critically ill patients and deaths, which appear with a 1-2 week lag after confirmed cases, continues to rise.
As of that day, the number of critically ill patients hospitalized was 364, an increase of 40 from the previous day (324). This is the highest number in about three months since May 11. Among critically ill patients, 84.9% (309) are aged 60 or older.
The number of COVID-19 deaths reported the previous day was 40, an increase of 11 from the day before (29). Among the deceased, 25 (62.5%) were aged 80 or older, 8 were in their 70s, 4 in their 60s, and 1 each in their 50s, 40s, and 30s.
The utilization rate of critical care beds was 38.5% (651 out of 1,693 beds in use), down 1.8 percentage points from the previous day (40.3%). The utilization rates for semi-critical care beds and moderate care beds were 59.1% and 44.7%, respectively.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
