COVID-19 Cases Increase by 284 to Total 1,261... Largest Daily Rise (Update)

On the 24th, as concerns over the spread of COVID-19 grow, citizens wearing masks are commuting at the Gwanghwamun intersection in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] On the 26th, 284 new domestic cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,261. This is the highest number of new cases reported in a single day since the counting began.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, 115 new cases were confirmed in the afternoon. Among them, 82 cases were from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, while the rest were from Gyeongnam (9), Gyeonggi (8), Busan (8), Seoul (4), Daejeon (2), Ulsan (1), and Chungnam (1). Adding the 169 cases confirmed in the morning, a total of 284 new confirmed cases were identified in one day.

Previously, on the 21st alone, 100 new cases were confirmed, followed by 229 on the 22nd, and 169 on the 23rd. On the 24th, 231 new cases were added, which was the highest daily increase until then, but the number of new cases on this day exceeds that by more than 50. On the 25th, 144 new cases were added to the list.

The steady increase in cases centered around the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions appears to be due to focused testing on members of the Shincheonji Daegu Church, known as a 'super-spreader situation.' The health authorities are prioritizing virus testing for about 1,300 symptomatic individuals among approximately 9,000 church members in this area. Since testing for these individuals is scheduled to be completed by this day, it is expected that the increase in cases will continue to be reflected in the statistics until the 27th.

The number of patients released from quarantine also increased by two. The 37th and 51st patients were released from isolation on this day, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 24. So far, a total of 53,553 people, including confirmed cases, have been tested, surpassing 50,000. This is more than 7,400 people compared to 9 a.m. on the same day. Currently, 31,576 people have tested negative and been released from quarantine, while investigations are ongoing for the remaining approximately 20,000 people.