[The Outbreak and Response of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Gyeongbuk Area (Daegu, Gyeongbuk) in 2022].

This report analyzed the current status of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirmed cases and deaths reported in the Gyeongbuk region during 2022, the current status of COVID-19 outbreaks and actions in infection vulnerable facilities. The purpose of this report is to establish a COVID-19 quarantine policy strategy and provide evidence for the future epidemic of infectious diseases. In 2022, there were 2,557,128 confirmed cases in the Gyeongbuk region and 3,283 deaths. In the total number of confirmed cases and deaths, females accounted for a slightly higher proportion than males. By age, the number of confirmed cases was 40-49 years old (14.3%, 365,357 cases), and the number of deaths was the highest at 80 years of age or older with 2,103 cases (64.1%, fatality rate 2.2%). The incidence rate per 100,000 population was higher in Daegu, but the fatality rate was higher in Gyeongsangbuk-do. Of the deaths, the major underlying diseases were shown circulatory system diseases (63.4%), mental diseases such as dementia/depression (36.6%), and endocrine and metabolic diseases such as diabetes/thyroid diseases (29.6%) from the highest. There were also differences in quarantine policies among the three epidemic periods of the Omicron variant in 2022. As a nationwide epidemic occurred due to the dominance of the Omicron variant, which has higher transmission power than the delta variant, the number of confirmed cases in the Gyeongbuk region also increased significantly. The number of deaths in people aged over 60 also increased, mainly in vulnerable facilities to infection.