83 COVID-19 Deaths Yesterday 'Highest in 112 Days'... 492 Critical Cases (Update)

Newly Confirmed Cases 138,812 ... Cumulative Confirmed Cases Exceed 22 Million

On the 17th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases surged to over 180,000, citizens were waiting for testing at the screening clinic of Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, there were 180,803 new COVID-19 cases. The number of confirmed cases nearly increased by 100,000 compared to the previous day as the holiday ended. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the COVID-19 resurgence continues, the number of new daily cases has significantly decreased, but the death toll recorded the highest level in over 110 days.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 19th, as of midnight, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 138,812, bringing the total cumulative cases to 22,000,037.

The new cases decreased by nearly 40,000 compared to the previous day (178,574), but it is 1.08 times higher than a week ago on the 12th (128,675), and 1.23 times higher compared to two weeks ago on the 5th (112,851). Based on Friday announcements, this is the largest scale in 19 weeks since April 8 (205,309).

From the 13th to the 19th, the daily new cases were 124,559 → 119,561 → 62,065 → 84,109 → 180,803 → 178,574 → 138,812, averaging 126,926 cases per day.

Among the new cases on this day, 465 were imported cases, which is 168 fewer than the previous day (633), the highest since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The number of critically ill patients increased by 22 from the previous day to 492. Although this is lower than the 563 on the 16th, the number of critically ill patients has remained between 400 and 500 since the 10th.

The number of COVID-19 deaths on the previous day was 83, an increase of 22 from the day before (61). This is the highest number in 112 days since April 29 (136). Among the deaths, those aged 80 and above accounted for 52 (62.6%), those in their 70s were 17 (20.4%), with 7 in their 60s, 6 in their 50s, and 1 in their 30s. The cumulative death toll from COVID-19 stands at 25,896, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.12%.

As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the nationwide severe bed occupancy rate was 45.7% (819 out of 1,794 beds in use), up 0.3 percentage points from the previous day (45.4%). The semi-severe bed occupancy rate was 60.2%, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous day (60.5%), and the moderate bed occupancy rate rose by 0.6 percentage points to 44.4% from 43.8% the day before.

Lee Ki-il, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that day, "As summer travel increases, the spread of infection is not slowing down," adding, "We are responding with three strategies: rapid diagnosis and treatment, targeted quarantine, and quarantine measures that coexist with the daily lives of the public."