[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] From midnight to 6 p.m. on the 23rd, the total number of new domestic COVID-19 cases was recorded at 336. This is 82 more than the 254 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.
Looking at the regions where cases were reported, 256 cases (76.2%) were in the metropolitan area, and 80 cases (23.8%) were in non-metropolitan areas.
By city and province, there were 123 cases in Gyeonggi, 117 in Seoul, 17 in Gyeongbuk, 16 in Incheon, 15 in Gwangju, 13 in Daegu, 11 in Busan, 7 in Chungnam, 5 in Gyeongnam, 4 in Jeonbuk, 3 each in Ulsan and Gangwon, and 1 each in Chungbuk and Jeju.
Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, no cases have yet been reported in Daejeon, Sejong, and Jeonnam.
There is also a possibility that the number of new cases will exceed 400 by midnight on the 24th. On the previous day, 103 more cases were added after 6 p.m., bringing the final total to 357.
Recently, the number of new cases maintained the 300 range during the Lunar New Year holiday (February 11?14), then surged to the 600 range due to cluster infections in workplaces and medical institutions, but gradually decreased back to the 300 range.
However, the drop to the 300 range is largely attributed to a decrease in testing on weekends and holidays, so it is premature to conclude that the spread has slowed.
Over the past week (February 17?23), the daily new cases were 621 → 621 → 561 → 448 → 416 → 332 → 357, averaging 479 cases per day.
Meanwhile, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the average daily number of locally transmitted cases, is 452. Since the 17th, it has remained within the Level 2.5 social distancing range for seven consecutive days (nationwide 400?500 cases or more, or rapid increases such as doubling).
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