New Confirmed Cases 436 by 6 PM... Expected to Reach Mid-500s Tomorrow

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, new confirmed cases were reported nationwide on the 16th.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day, a total of 436 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide. This is 17 fewer than the 453 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

Looking at the regions with new confirmed cases, 341 cases (78.2%) were in the metropolitan area, and 95 cases (21.8%) were in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, there were 183 cases in Seoul, 143 in Gyeonggi, 16 in Busan, 15 in Incheon, 14 in Daejeon, 13 each in Ulsan and Chungbuk, 6 each in Daegu, Gangwon, and Jeju, 5 in Gwangju, 4 each in Chungnam and Gyeongnam, 3 each in Gyeongbuk and Jeonnam, and 2 in Jeonbuk. Among the 17 cities and provinces, Sejong has not yet reported any confirmed cases.

Since there is still time left until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0:00 on the 17th is expected to increase further, reaching the mid-500s. The previous day saw an increase of 92 cases after 6 p.m., closing at a final count of 545 cases.

The number of new confirmed cases reported daily over the past week from the 10th to that day were 610 → 556 → 565 → 452 → 399 → 373 (corrected from the initial 374) → 545. Averaging about 500 cases per day over the week, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the daily average of locally transmitted cases is approximately 472, which still falls within the Level 2.5 range (nationwide 400?500 or more cases).

Regarding major cluster infection cases, a total of 29 people have tested positive since the 12th at a language institute in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province, and 12 people have been confirmed positive since the 13th at a language institute in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province. Additionally, 11 people including workers, students, and family members tested positive since the 10th at a study center in Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, and 38 people have been confirmed positive since the 13th at a private academy in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. Furthermore, at a workplace in Songpa-gu, Seoul, employees have been consecutively confirmed positive since the 9th, increasing the cumulative number of infections to 14.