With the rapid spread of COVID-19 micron mutation, the number of new confirmed cases exceeded 8,000 for the first time today (25th).
The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters announced that as of 00:00 today, there were 8,571 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 74,997.
It is the first time that the number of new confirmed cases per day has exceeded 8,000 since the first case of Corona 19 in Korea on January 20, 2020.
This is 723 more than the previous record of 7,848 on the 15th of last month.
Compared to yesterday's 7,512 people (the original announcement was made at 7,513 people and then revised), that's an increase of 1,59 people.
Since the Omicron mutation detection rate recorded 50.3% last week (1.16-22), the number of new confirmed cases is increasing day by day.
As Omicron, which transmits more than twice the transmission power of the delta mutation, which was the dominant species, dominates, experts predict that the number of new confirmed cases per day may exceed 10,000 within this week.
Although the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing, it has not yet led to an increase in severe cases and deaths.
As of 00:00 today, there were 392 patients with severe severe cases, 26 fewer than yesterday (418), and the number has fallen below 400.
The number of severe severe cases, which was in the 400 range for five consecutive days from the 20th, is counted as 300 today and continues to decrease.
However, quarantine authorities believe that as the number of confirmed cases increases, there is a high possibility that the number of severe cases will increase again with a lag of 2-3 weeks.
The death toll increased by 23, bringing the total to 6,588.
The cumulative fatality rate is 0.88%.
Looking at the routes of infection of new confirmed cases, 8,356 local cases and 215 inflows from abroad.
In one week from the 19th, 5,804 → 6,601 → 6,767 → 7,7 → 7,628 (corrected after it was originally announced as 7,629) → 7,512 → 8,571 people, which is an average of 7,127 people per day.
Due to the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases, the quarantine authorities are entering the 'Omicron response stage', a new quarantine system that concentrates limited medical resources on early diagnosis and treatment of high-risk groups.
First of all, starting tomorrow, the Omicron response phase will be implemented in the four regions where the dominance of Omicron was first started: Gwangju, Jeonnam, Pyeongtaek, and Anseong.
Accordingly, in these four regions, only high-risk groups such as close contacts and the elderly over 60 years of age can receive the Corona 19 gene amplification (PCR) test. .
From tomorrow, the quarantine period for confirmed patients who have completed vaccination will also be shortened from the current 10 days to 7 days nationwide.
Close contacts are exempt from quarantine if they have been vaccinated.
The government plans to decide when to switch to the Omicron response stage nationwide while monitoring the situation.