9 in 10 COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms, average hospitalization period at 20.7 days: KCDC

SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- Nine out of 10 novel coronavirus patients in South Korea have shown mild symptoms, with their average hospitalization period at 20.7 days, health authorities said Wednesday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has analyzed a total of 8,976 COVID-19 patients who were either fully cured and had been released from quarantine or dead as of end-April.

The findings showed that 90.9 percent of patients were mild COVID-19 cases, and 9.1 percent showed severe symptoms and needed treatment such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

COVID-19 patients with mild cases stayed in hospital for an average of 20.7 days, while those with severe symptoms were hospitalized for an average of 23.7 days, KCDC said.

The KCDC said the portion of patients needing intensive-care treatment greatly increased among those aged over 50 who had existing health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Of the total COVID-19 patients, 5,570, or 62 percent, were admitted to hospitals while 3,230 were admitted to community treatment centers dedicated to care of COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms.

The findings showed that 41.8 percent of the admitted COVID-19 patients experienced cough, followed by 28.9 percent with strong cough and 20.2 percent with fever.

The country added 63 cases on Wednesday, including 30 local infections, raising the total caseload to 13,244, the KCDC said. The latest tally marked a sharp rise from the 44 cases reported Tuesday. South Korea had reported more than 60 cases for three consecutive days through Sunday, before falling to 48 on Monday.

khj@yna.co.kr
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