Seoul Reports 213 New COVID-19 Cases Yesterday... Highest Since Pandemic Began

On the 25th, as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) intensifies daily in South Korea, medical staff are collecting specimens at an on-site screening clinic set up in the parking lot of Dongjak District Office in Seoul for proactive testing. Dongjak District recently established the on-site screening clinic to prevent further spread related to the cluster infection at the Noryangjin civil service exam academy. The on-site screening clinic will operate for three days from the 25th to the 27th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the number of testees increases, the period may be extended. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) intensifies, the number of confirmed cases in the Seoul area increased to the 200s in a single day yesterday.

Seoul City announced on the 26th that as of midnight, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Seoul increased by 213 compared to the previous day. This is the highest number of daily new confirmed cases in about 10 months since the first confirmed case occurred in Seoul on January 23. It is also more than 50 cases higher than the previous highest daily new confirmed cases of 156 on the 20th.

On that day, a total of 60 people at a dance academy located in Gangseo-gu were confirmed positive, bringing the total related confirmed cases to 66. Confirmed cases related to Nowon-gu Office also increased by 14 (cumulative 15).

Additional confirmed cases emerged from sporadic cluster infections including 9 cases related to Sauna II in Seocho-gu (cumulative 46), 7 cases related to a sauna in Songpa-gu (cumulative 10), 6 cases related to Hongdae Saegyo Church in Mapo-gu (cumulative 84), 2 cases related to a sauna in Seocho-gu (cumulative 66), 2 cases related to a teacher certification academy in Dongjak-gu (cumulative 66), and 2 cases related to a hospital in Gangseo-gu (cumulative 28).

There were 54 cases from contact with other confirmed patients, 15 from contact with confirmed patients from other cities or provinces, 5 imported cases from abroad, and 33 cases whose infection routes are still under investigation.

In Seoul, one COVID-19 related death was reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 88. The cumulative number of confirmed cases so far is 8,113, of which 6,300 have been declared recovered and discharged, and 1,725 are currently in isolation and treatment.

The total number of people in self-quarantine after contact with confirmed patients or after entering the country from abroad is 16,660.