◀ anchor ▶
Today, the number of new COVID-19 cases is expected to reach 100,000.
It hit 10,000 for the first time three weeks ago and is on the trend of doubling every week.
There is also a forecast that there will be 200,000 confirmed cases per day at the beginning of next month.
I’m Jung Sang-bin.
◀ Report ▶
As of 9 p.m. last night, there were 90,228 new cases of COVID-19.
This is the highest number on record, an increase of 5,114 from the same time the day before.
By region, regarding 54,000 people were in the metropolitan area, including 28,000 in Gyeonggi-do and 19,000 in Seoul, accounting for 60.8% of the total.
Considering that the counting continues until midnight, the number of confirmed cases announced today is expected to approach 100,000.
The quarantine authorities predicted that the number of confirmed cases per day would peak at 170,000 at the end of this month and over 200,000 at the beginning of next month.
[정재훈/가천대 의대 예방의학과 교수]
“I think that the (published number) may be a little lower than the actual (confirmed) number because the sensitivity of the rapid antigen test is lowered, but we expect that there will be at least 200,000 people…”
The number of critically ill patients is around 300 for the third day, but the bed utilization rate has been stably maintained below 50 percent.
The number of critically ill patients per million population is also 6, which is much lower than in countries where Omicron reached its peak and entered a downward phase, such as 46.3 in the US and 49 in France.
[손영래/중앙사고수습본부 사회전략반장]
“It is analyzed as a result of active treatment such as the unique characteristics of Omicron mutation, the high vaccination rate centered on the elderly, the reorganization of the response system centered on the high-risk group, and the expansion of oral medications.”
For this reason, measures to ease the distance are being discussed so that eight people can gather by 10 pm despite the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases.
The government is planning to announce an adjustment plan for social distancing tomorrow in consideration of economic aspects such as damage to the self-employed as well as the quarantine of Omicron.
This is Jung Sang-bin from MBC News.
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