Despite the easing of quarantine measures following the de facto endemic (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases) declaration, the COVID-19 outbreak appears to be subsiding.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 28th that the weekly new confirmed cases for the third week of June (18?24) were 112,184, a 0.8% decrease compared to the previous week, with a daily average of 16,026 cases. Although the rate of decrease in confirmed cases has somewhat slowed, the decline has continued for five consecutive weeks since the third week of May.
The 'effective reproduction number,' which indicates how many people one infected person transmits the virus to, was 0.98, remaining below 1 for five consecutive weeks.
The average daily number of critically ill patients hospitalized was 116, a 2.7% increase compared to the previous week. However, the number of new deaths was 55 (an average of 8 per day), a 23.6% decrease from the previous week. The nationwide intensive care unit bed occupancy rate is 23.4%.
The weekly COVID-19 risk level has remained 'low' for 23 consecutive weeks since the third week of January.
Meanwhile, the health authorities announced on the same day that to prepare for infectious disease threats after COVID-19, they will strengthen the infectious disease response system at public health centers and enhance inter-ministerial cooperation on zoonotic infectious diseases.
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