551 New Confirmed Cases by 9 PM, 65 Fewer Than Yesterday... Around 600 Expected on the 24th (Update)

Citizens waiting to get tested at the screening clinic set up at Songpa-gu Office in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] According to the quarantine authorities and local governments including Seoul City, from 0:00 to 9:00 PM on this day, the total number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide was 551. This is 65 fewer than the 616 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

Since there is still time until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0:00 on the 24th is expected to increase to around 600, possibly reaching the low to mid-600s. The previous day saw an increase of 29 cases in the three hours after 9:00 PM, closing at a final count of 645.

Looking at the regions where confirmed cases were reported, the metropolitan area accounted for 426 cases (77.3%), and non-metropolitan areas accounted for 125 cases (22.7%). By city and province, Seoul had 247 cases, Gyeonggi 164, Gyeongbuk 29, Busan 20, Gyeongnam 19, Incheon and Daejeon 15 each, Ulsan 10, Chungbuk and Chungnam 6 each, Gangwon 5, Jeonbuk 4, Daegu, Jeonnam, and Jeju 3 each, and Gwangju and Sejong 1 each.

The number of new confirmed cases over the past week from the 17th to this day were 540 → 507 → 482 → 429 → 357 → 394 → 645 daily, averaging about 479 cases per day.

Among these, the daily average of locally transmitted confirmed cases, which is a key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level and gauging the community spread situation, rose to about 445, reaching the mid-400s.