Another 'Record High' in Just One Week... 1,681 Confirmed Cases by 9 PM (Comprehensive)

Weekend Effect Ends, Cases Soar from 1,200s
1,681 Cases by 9 PM... 524 More Than Previous Day

On the 20th, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, citizens are lining up for testing at the screening clinic of Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, the daily new confirmed cases were 1,278. The cumulative number of confirmed cases is 180,481 (including 10,976 imported cases). Photo by Moohnam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has once again broken the record for the highest daily count. After hovering around 1,200 cases for the past two days, the number of confirmed cases sharply surged to around 1,800 as the weekend effect ended.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments on the 20th, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide from midnight to 9 p.m. was tallied at 1,681. This is an increase of 524 cases compared to the same time the previous day (1,157 cases).

With only the cases confirmed by 9 p.m., this already marks the highest number since the COVID-19 outbreak began in the country. The previous record was 1,615 cases on the 13th.

While the spread in the metropolitan area remains steady, cases outside the metropolitan area have also surged, creating an atmosphere where the fourth wave is becoming a reality across all regions nationwide. Among the new cases on this day, 1,160 (69.0%) were from the metropolitan area, and 521 (31.0%) were from non-metropolitan areas. By region, Seoul reported 590 cases, Gyeonggi 447, and Incheon 123, with all metropolitan areas recording triple-digit cases. In non-metropolitan areas, Busan had 95 cases, Gyeongnam 82, Daejeon 68, Gangwon 47, Chungnam 41, Daegu 35, Jeju 34, Gyeongbuk 25, Gwangju 23, Jeonbuk and Jeonnam each 19, Chungbuk 15, Ulsan 14, and Sejong 4. Notably, the number of confirmed cases in non-metropolitan areas surpassed 500 for the first time since the start of the fourth wave, as of the 9 p.m. tally.

Since there is still time until the midnight cutoff for the final tally, the number of new confirmed cases announced at midnight on the 21st is expected to be around 1,800. On the previous day, 121 additional cases were reported after 9 p.m., bringing the final total to 1,278.

The daily number of new confirmed cases has remained in the four-digit range for two consecutive weeks since the 7th. Including the 21st, this marks 15 consecutive days with over 1,000 cases. The number of new cases reported over the past week were 1,614 → 1,599 → 1,536 → 1,452 → 1,454 → 1,252 → 1,278, consistently exceeding 1,200 cases daily.