S. Korea confirms 22 new cases, hovering around 20 for 5th day

South Korea reported 22 new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 10,635.

New cases of COVID-19 in the country, which once had the largest outbreak outside China, hovered around 20 for the fifth straight day.

After reaching a peak on Feb. 29 with 909 cases, the country has since managed to massively reduce the number of new infections. The number of daily new infections was below 50 for nine days in a row.

Of the new cases, 11 came from overseas, all of which were detected at airport checkpoints, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of all patients, 7,829 people, or 73.6 percent, have recovered.

Korea is still on alert due to the continued influx of new infections from overseas, emerging clusters of infections in the country and patients who had previously recovered testing positive again.

Of the country’s total cases, 983 cases have come from overseas, with the most cases from Europe and the Americas. Nearly 92 percent of the imported cases involved Korean nationals.

By region, four new cases were reported in North Gyeongsang Province, linked to a cluster in Yecheon. A total of 34 cases were confirmed in the county, all of which were linked to a patient in her 40s. Three of her family members and her colleague tested positive for the virus.

Two each were reported in Seoul and Gwangju, one each in Incheon, Daejeon and Gyeonggi Province.

With one more death, the death toll rose to 230, putting the country’s overall fatality rate at 2.16 percent. The fatality rate stands at 23.13 percent for those in their 80s and older, 9.66 percent for those in their 70s and 2.46 percent for those in their 60s.

By gender, 59.7 percent of the total patients in the country are women.

By age, most cases, or 27.35 percent, were in their 20s, 18.26 percent in their 50s, 13.27 percent in their 40s and 12.62 percent in the 60s.

Daegu, once the country’s epicenter of the novel coronavirus, represents the majority of the country’s total cases, accounting for 64.2 percent.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)