331 New COVID-19 Cases Nationwide by 6 PM: "Declining Trend, but It's Too Early to Adjust Social Distancing"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] According to the quarantine authorities and local governments on the 17th, from 0:00 to 18:00 nationwide, the total number of new confirmed cases testing positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was 331, which is 65 fewer than the previous day.

By region, the metropolitan area including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon accounted for 213 cases, making up 64.4%.

Since there is still time until midnight when the tally closes, the number of confirmed cases is expected to increase further, but the recent spread appears to have eased.

On the same day, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said at the regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, "The average daily number of domestic patients from the 10th to the 16th was 516, showing a continuous decline compared to 738 in the previous week."

Son added, "Regionally, the metropolitan area decreased from 521 to 341 cases, and non-metropolitan areas decreased from 217 to 176 cases, showing a downward trend overall," and explained, "The nationwide infection reproduction number is also below 1, and the test positivity rate continues to decline."

The quarantine authorities judged that although the third wave continues to decline overall, the average daily confirmed cases of 516 still exceed the level 2 social distancing criteria, which is a relatively high number, so it is too early to be complacent.

Son emphasized, "We need to maintain the current downward trend in patient numbers and further reduce the epidemic level to consider adjusting the social distancing stage," and added, "No cluster infections should occur in multi-use facilities reopening from tomorrow, so that we can consider expanding operations of more livelihood facilities based on the situation afterward."

He continued, "We will also decide whether to extend the ban on private gatherings of five or more people, including during the Lunar New Year holiday period, as part of the special quarantine measures for the holiday, while monitoring the epidemic situation over the next two weeks."