New Confirmed Cases 513 by 9 PM... Expected to Reach Mid to High 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 9 p.m. on that day, a total of 513 new COVID-19 positive cases were recorded nationwide. This is 27 more than the 486 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

Looking at the regions with new confirmed cases, 399 cases (77.8%) were in the metropolitan area, and 114 cases (22.2%) were in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, there were 196 cases in Seoul, 186 in Gyeonggi, 22 in Ulsan, 17 in Incheon, 16 in Busan, 15 each in Daejeon and Chungbuk, 7 each in Daegu and Gangwon, 6 each in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeju, 4 each in Chungnam and Gyeongnam, and 3 each in Gyeongbuk and 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 at 0:00 on the 17th is expected to increase further to the mid-to-high 500s, possibly reaching around 600. The previous day saw an increase of 59 cases after 9 p.m., closing at a final count of 545.

The number of new confirmed cases reported daily over the past week from the 10th to this day were 610 → 556 → 565 → 452 → 399 → 373 (corrected from the initial 374) → 545. With a daily average of about 500 cases over the week, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the average daily locally transmitted cases, stands at 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.