97 New COVID-19 Cases in Seoul as of 9 PM

On the 18th, citizens are waiting to be tested at a temporary screening clinic for the novel coronavirus infection set up at Seoul Station Plaza. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the same day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases increased by 389, bringing the total to 72,729. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that from midnight to 9 p.m. on the 18th, there were 97 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Seoul over a 21-hour period.

This is a decrease compared to 130 cases during the same time frame the previous day and 155 cases one week earlier (on the 11th). The total number of cases for the entire day was 132 on the 17th and 167 on the 11th.

The decrease in confirmed cases on the 18th appears to be influenced by a sharp drop in the number of tests conducted the previous day. Most of the confirmed cases on the 18th were from tests taken on the 17th. On the 17th, the number of tests conducted in Seoul was 11,968, the lowest in 35 days since anonymous testing for the general public began at temporary screening clinics on December 14 of last year. The average daily number of tests in Seoul over the past 15 days (from the 3rd to the 17th) was 25,515.

As of 9 p.m. on the 18th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Seoul was 22,713. The total number of confirmed cases for the entire day will be compiled as of midnight on the 19th and announced in the morning.