"Outbreak Expected to Continue Through This Month"
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that the number of COVID-19 inpatients continued to rise for the tenth consecutive week in the first week of September, and projected that the current outbreak would persist through this month.
According to the KDCA on September 12, the number of COVID-19 inpatients at 221 hospital-level medical institutions under the agency's sample surveillance program during week 36 of this year (August 31 to September 6) was 433, an increase of 27 from the previous week's 406. This marks the tenth consecutive weekly increase.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 inpatients this year has reached 5,306. By age group, those aged 65 and older accounted for the largest share at 60.6% (3,214 patients), followed by those aged 50 to 64 (17.9%) and those aged 19 to 49 (10.2%).
The virus detection rate, which indicates the proportion of COVID-19 virus found in samples from suspected respiratory infection patients, also increased slightly to 39.0% compared to the previous week. This marks the third consecutive weekly increase, following 31.5% in week 33, 32.6% in week 34, and 37.7% in week 35. However, the concentration of virus detected in wastewater surveillance showed a slight decrease.
The KDCA expects the COVID-19 outbreak to continue through this month and plans to maintain ongoing monitoring.
Lim Seungkwan, Commissioner of the KDCA, stated, "High-risk groups, such as the elderly, should refrain from participating in indoor events with large crowds, and if participation is unavoidable, they should wear masks. If symptoms such as sore throat, cough, or fever appear, please visit a hospital promptly, and workplaces should also accommodate such cases."
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