Decrease of about 7,000 from the previous day
Declining trend continues but... Risk from China variables remains
[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] As the winter resurgence of COVID-19 slows down somewhat, the number of new confirmed cases has decreased to the mid-40,000s. The government is moving toward meeting the conditions for lifting the indoor mask mandate, but the COVID-19 situation in China remains a variable.
Confirmed cases drop to the 40,000s... Decreasing for two consecutive weeks
The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 8th at midnight that 46,766 new COVID-19 cases were reported. This is 7,041 fewer than the previous day. Compared to a week ago, the number has decreased by more than 10,000. The cumulative number of confirmed cases is 29,526,000.
From the 2nd to the 8th, the daily new confirmed cases were 22,724 → 81,039 → 78,554 → 64,094 → 56,954 → 53,807 → 46,766. The daily average is 57,705.
Among the new confirmed cases on this day, 132 were imported cases, which is 87 fewer than the previous day (219). However, 78% (103 cases) of the new imported cases were from China. This figure includes short-term foreign visitors who tested positive at the airport, Korean nationals from China who were tested at local health centers, and long-term foreign residents who tested positive.
The number of confirmed cases by domestic region (including imported cases) is as follows: Gyeonggi 12,298, Seoul 7,824, Incheon 3,074, Gyeongnam 3,059, Busan 3,038, Gyeongbuk 2,285, Chungnam 2,097, Daegu 2,014, Jeonbuk 1,825, Jeonnam 1,597, Chungbuk 1,443, Gwangju 1,373, Ulsan 1,343, Daejeon 1,272, Gangwon 1,226, Jeju 529, Sejong 441, Quarantine 28.
The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized is 526, down 18 from the previous day (544). The intensive care unit bed occupancy rate was 39.8% as of 5 p.m. the previous day.
The number of deaths reported the previous day was 34, which is 26 fewer than the day before (60). The cumulative number of deaths is 32,590, with a cumulative fatality rate of 0.11%.
Will masks come off? Criteria met but concerns over China remain
Earlier, the government announced on the 23rd of last month that the indoor mask-wearing mandate would be adjusted, stating that the first phase of lifting the mandate would proceed after discussion by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters if two or more of the following four indicators were met: ▲ stabilization of case occurrence ▲ decrease in critically ill and death cases ▲ stable medical response capacity ▲ immunity acquisition in high-risk groups.
The specific reference criteria are ▲ weekly case occurrence decreasing for two consecutive weeks ▲ weekly new critically ill patients decreasing compared to the previous week and weekly fatality rate below 0.10% ▲ availability of more than 50% of ICU beds that can be mobilized within four weeks ▲ additional winter vaccination rates of 50% or more for the elderly and 60% or more for infection-vulnerable facilities.
These criteria are already considered to have been met. Weekly new confirmed cases decreased for two consecutive weeks from 471,195 in the third week of December (December 18?24) to 414,673 in the first week of January (January 1?7). ICU bed availability exceeded the reference value at 68.7% at the end of last year. The weekly fatality rate has also been maintained below 0.10%. However, the fact that critically ill patients have remained between 500 and 600 for more than two weeks is a concern.
In particular, the spread of COVID-19 in China remains a variable. As China announced easing of quarantine measures and plans to gradually lift overseas travel restrictions, the Korean government has strengthened quarantine regulations for arrivals from China. The additional winter vaccination rate for high-risk groups is still reported to fall short of the government’s target (50% for those aged 60 and over, 60% for infection-vulnerable facilities).
The Central Disease Control Headquarters stated, "Along with whether the mask-wearing mandate adjustment indicators are met, we will comprehensively review the domestic impact of new variants and overseas infection spread situations and discuss whether to implement the first phase of adjustment."
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