Number of COVID-19 Cases Reaches 1,600 for the Second Day: Number of Cases Outside the Greater Seoul Area Surpasses 400 for the First Time

[경향신문]

On the afternoon of July 14, when new cases of COVID-19 reached a record high, citizens try to evade the heat with parasols provided by Seocho-gu while waiting to get tested in front of the temporary screening clinic set up in the square in front of the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Kim Ki-nam

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight July 15, they have confirmed 1,600 new cases of COVID-19 from the previous day. This is the second largest number of cases since the COVID outbreak in South Korea, following the previous day’s number of 1,615 cases.

Among the new cases, 1,555 were transmitted in the local community, while 45 were from overseas. A regional analysis showed that 70.6% (1,098) of the cases were confirmed in the Seoul metropolitan area--518 in Seoul, 491 in Gyeonggi, and 89 in Incheon. Outside the capital area, authorities confirmed 63 cases in Busan, 50 in Daegu, 21 in Gwangju, 59 in Daejeon, 18 in Ulsan, 2 in Sejong, 24 in Gangwon, 12 in Chungcheongbuk-do, 51 in Chungcheongnam-do, 23 in Jeollabuk-do, 26 in Jeollanam-do, 13 in Gyeongsangbuk-do, 86 in Gyeongsangnam-do, and 9 in Jeju.

Two more patients died of COVID-19, bringing the total up to 2,050 deaths (1.18% fatality rate). Four more patients are in serious condition, bringing the total to 167 patients. At present, 14,952 patients are in quarantine. The total number of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, since the first patient was confirmed in January 2020, was 173,511.

As of midnight this day, 15,836,992 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, after 111,631 people received their first shots the previous day. So far, 30.8% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. People fully vaccinated--who received all the recommended doses of the vaccine--increased by 102,000 bringing the total up to 6,183,732 (12% of the population).