key: cord-0765478-8747t6nj
authors: nan
title: Coronavirus Disease-19: The First 7,755 Cases in the Republic of Korea
date: 2020-04-03
journal: Osong Public Health Res Perspect
DOI: 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.2.05
sha: 848ad232f5b4516e65480b8dd437d159aed788f0
doc_id: 765478
cord_uid: 8747t6nj

We report the first 7,755 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Korea as of March 12(th), 2020. A total of 66 deaths have been recorded, giving a case fatality proportion of 0.9%. Older people, and those with comorbidities were at a higher risk of a fatal outcome. The highest number of cases of COVID-19 were in Daegu, followed by Gyeongbuk. This summary may help to understand the disease dynamics in the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreaks, and may therefore, guide future public health measures.

Only a few weeks after the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan, China, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Republic of Korea on January 20 th , 2020 [1] . International travel has facilitated the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world. As of March 13 th , 2020, 118 countries, territories, and areas have reported COVID-19 cases, however, differences in patterns and intensity of transmission ranges were observed [2] . In February and early March in Korea, a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases were observed, with most infections in specific clusters and geographical regions.

Based on the surveillance data, we report the basic epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 to examine the early course of the pandemic. Furthermore, factors associated with COVID-19 cases and fatality were investigated to provide information on a vulnerable part of the population to guide public health prioritization.

key indicators such as estimated duration of exposure, date of onset of symptoms, and route of transmission were identified by field epidemiological investigators [1] . It must be noted that the data presented in this summary may change depending on the results of further epidemiological investigations.

As of March 12 th , 2020, a total of 7,755 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 66 deaths were recorded in Korea, giving a case fatality proportion of 0.9% (Table 1 The outbreak generally began with the younger age group, followed by the elderly population.

There were 66 laboratory-confirmed fatal cases of COVID-19, as of March 12 th , 2020 ( 

The analysis of the first 7,755 cases of COVID-19 in Korea showed an initial increase in cases in specific geographical regions, comparable to the epidemiological situation in China and Italy [4, 5] . In Korea, despite a sharp decline in the number 

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Epidemiology and Case Management Team, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of 28 Cases of Coronavirus Disease in South Korea

World Health Organization

COVID-19) Situation Report -52

National Infectious Diseases Surveillance data of South Korea

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

First cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region

We thank the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Si/Do and Si/Gun/Gu, medical staffs in health centers, and medical facilities for their efforts in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.