Covid-19 in South Korea
Korea CDC has done a good job in promptly releasing what we can assume are accurate figures and information relating to the Cov-ID infection and transmission on the peninsula. The number of confirmed cases are updated at about the same time twice daily — first thing in the morning at around 9 or 10 and at the end of the work day at around 4 or 5.
Deaths are reported within a few hours of occurrence. The number of patients that are in critical condition is also reported with the particular treatment or therapy they are undergoing.
As of Sunday April 19, there are 10,661 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in South Korea.
The morbidity rate for patients above the age of 80 is 3.7 percent. For everyone else, the death rate is 0.5 percent.
The highest risk is for patients 65 years and older who have one or two preexisting conditions. The most common preexisting diseases are cancer, kidney failure and diabetes.
A total of 234 deaths are reported as attributable to Covid-19. Listed below are the first group of known cases, listed below from the earliest death.
63-year-old man
55-year-old woman
41-year-old man *
57-year-old man
57-year-old woman
59-year-old man
62-year-old man
67-year-old man
69-year-old woman
58-year-old man
35-year-old man **
73-year-old male
74-year-old male
Almost all the cases above are Koreans who had been diagnosed and were being treated at hospitals for the virus. There are two exceptions.
The 41-year-old male was found dead at his home. It was only determined later that he had the virus.
The 35-year-old male is from Mongolia. He had entered the country for a liver transplant and had been suffering from chronic liver failure. Details will be added here later, but it can be quickly noted that his sister and other family members and friends who had accompanied him for the original surgery have been tested and have been found non-infected.
The youngest infected patient is a 45-day-old infant.
The second youngest is a 16-month-old girl who tested positive for the virus, yet did not display any symptoms. She was tested because she was with her parents when they attended a wedding in Daegu. Her parents did test positive but are doing well; they are in their 30s. The child had slightly elevated body temperature that was not high enough to meet the medical definition of a fever, which is one of the flu symptoms.
The thirteenth victim was a 74-year-old male who had tested positive for the virus and was at home awaiting transport to the hospital.
This page will also be updated with newer deaths, as well as details on each one, such as location, underlying medical conditions, and therapies / treatments received. In general, supplementary oxygen is provided as the patient is unable to breathe properly and take in enough air. Cause of death is most often listed as acute respiratory failure from pneumonia.
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