On the 16th, when snow fell mainly in the central region, citizens are getting tested at the temporary COVID-19 screening center set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has reached the 600s for the first time in 38 days since the 10th of last month.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 17th at midnight that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 621 from the previous day to 84,946.
The sources of infection for the new confirmed cases were 590 local transmissions and 31 imported cases.
About 7 out of 10 local cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area. There were 247 cases (41.9%) in Seoul, 147 cases (24.9%) in Gyeonggi, and 21 cases (3.6%) in Incheon, totaling 415 cases in the metropolitan area, accounting for 70.3% of all confirmed cases. Additionally, the number of confirmed cases related to the boiler factory cluster infection in Asan City, Chungnam Province, exceeded 100, with 74 cases (12.5%) reported in the Chungnam region.
Other regions reported new confirmed cases as follows: 18 in Busan, 15 in Jeonnam, 14 in Gyeongbuk, 12 in Daegu, 9 in Ulsan, 7 in Daejeon, 7 in Gyeongnam, 6 in Chungbuk, 6 in Jeonbuk, 3 in Gangwon, 2 in Gwangju, and 2 in Sejong. Jeju reported no new confirmed cases.
There were 31 imported confirmed cases. Among them, 6 were detected during quarantine, and 25 were identified locally. Six were Korean nationals, and 25 were foreigners.
The number of patients who have recovered and been released from isolation reached 75,360, an increase of 809 from the previous day. Among the confirmed cases receiving inpatient treatment, the number of critically ill patients increased by 3 to 169 compared to the previous day. The death toll rose by 4 to 1,538.
On the previous day, 47,077 diagnostic tests were conducted for suspected cases. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 29,574 tests were performed, confirming 92 new cases.
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