The number of COVID-19 deaths exceeds 30,000 in Korea

The number of deaths from COVID-19 has exceeded 30,000 in Korea. The number of severely ill patients also increased to the mid-400 level, the highest in the past two months. This is analyzed to be the result of the "7th resurgence" this winter.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in Korea recorded 30,031 on Sunday, exceeding 30,000 for the first time. Korea ranks 35th in the world.

The first death from the coronavirus in Korea occurred on February 20, 2020, only a month after the first patient was diagnosed (January 20, 2020). The death toll exceeded 10,000 on March 12 this year when the number of patients skyrocketed due to the Omicron variant, and it took only a month for the number to exceed 20,000 on April 13. The number continued to grow with the resurgence in the summer (6th resurgence) and exceeded 30,000 on Sunday, seven months after the 20,000 thresholds.

However, the number of deaths per million in Korea is smaller than the global average. According to the international statistics website Our World in Data, the number of COVID-19 deaths per million in Korea was 577.53 as of Wednesday, which is higher than that of Japan (387.04), but lower than other major countries such as the U.S. (3,182.16), the U.K. (3,130.64) and France (2,332.27).

As of Sunday midnight, the number of severely ill patients was 451, an increase of 32 from the previous day (419). The average of the past week was 407, an increase of 50 compared to the previous week (357). "The number of severely ill patients tends to increase two weeks after the epidemic begins, and the trend is recurring this time," said an insider of the quarantine office. "The operation rate of hospital beds for severe cases is still at the 30% range, a level our medical system can handle."

In the meantime, the scale of the 7th resurgence is temporarily plateauing. The number of COVID-patients as of Sunday midnight was 46,011, which is 4,578 less than the previous day (50,589) and 2,431 less than November 13 (48,442), a week ago.


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com