Today (1st), just one month after the gradual recovery of daily life was implemented last month, the number of new corona19 patients crossed the 5,000 line.
This is the first 5,000 people since the start of the domestic Corona 19 crisis in January last year, and it broke the record for the highest number as it climbed to 5,000 in a week after entering the 4,000 on the 24th of last month (4,115).
The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters (Bangdaebon) announced that as of 00:00 today, the number of new confirmed cases increased by 5,123, to a total of 452,350.
This is an increase of 2,91 people from yesterday (3,322 people) and 1,8 more than the previous record high of one week ago Wednesday (November 24, 4,115 people).
The number of confirmed cases in the 5,000 range has been over a year and 10 months since January 20, last year, when the first patient was reported in Korea, or 681 days to be exact.
If you look at the route of infection of today's new confirmed cases, 5,75 cases were local and 48 were imported.
In addition, the metropolitan area, including 2,222 in Seoul, 1,582 in Gyeonggi, and 326 in Incheon, also had the highest number of confirmed cases ever.
As the number of new confirmed cases skyrocketed, the number of severe cases recorded the highest in the 700 range.
As of today, the number of patients with severe serious illness is 723, an increase of 62 from yesterday (661), the previous record high.
The death toll increased by 34 from yesterday, bringing the total to 3,658.
Moreover, yesterday in Korea, a couple visiting Nigeria was reported for the first time as a suspected case of infection with Omicron, a new mutant of Corona 19, and the authorities were in an emergency.
The test results are expected to be confirmed this afternoon, and if it turns out to be a case of an actual omicron mutation, it is likely to lead to widespread concerns about transmission.
(Photo = Yonhap News)