COVID-19, 412 Cases as of 6 PM on the 17th... 500s Expected Tomorrow

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] On the 17th, COVID-19 confirmed cases continued to emerge across the country.

According to quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, a total of 412 new confirmed cases tested positive from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day. This is 96 fewer than the 508 cases reported at the same time the previous day.

This appears to be a delayed reflection of the decrease in testing during the weekend and holidays. In particular, it is difficult to say that the spread has slowed down since the number at the same time on Monday, the 10th, a week ago, was 371, which is lower than today's figure.

Of the new confirmed cases, 279 (67.7%) were from the metropolitan area, and 133 (32.3%) were from non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, Seoul reported 139 cases, Gyeonggi 125, Daegu 20, Gangwon 19, Gyeongbuk 17, Incheon 15, Chungnam 14, Busan 13, Gyeongnam 12, Chungbuk 11, Gwangju 9, Daejeon 7, Jeonbuk 4, Ulsan 3, and both Jeonnam and Jeju reported 2 cases each.

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Sejong has not yet reported any new confirmed cases.

Since the tally closes at midnight, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0:00 on the 18th is expected to increase to the 500s.

The previous day, 111 cases were added after 6 p.m., closing at a final count of 619.

From the 11th to this day, the daily new confirmed cases over the past week were 511 → 635 → 715 → 747 → 681 → 610 → 619.

With a daily average of about 645 cases over the week, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the daily average of locally transmitted cases, is approximately 621. It has risen back to the 600 range for the first time in 17 days since the 30th of last month (621 cases). According to distancing criteria, it still falls within level 2.5 (nationwide 400?500 cases or more).

Regarding major new cluster outbreaks, in Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, related to entertainment establishments, 9 additional infections were confirmed, resulting in a total of 17 cases over two days starting from the previous day. Also, in Daegu, 15 foreigners tested positive in connection with an Islamic temple. Additionally, in Daejeon, a family of five including a university professor was confirmed positive.