COVID-19 Confirmed Cases Nationwide... 1,643 as of 6 PM (Comprehensive)

On the 17th, one day before the Chuseok holiday, citizens are waiting to get tested at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Dongjak-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] As the spread of COVID-19 continues, new confirmed cases surged across the country on the 17th.

According to health authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on the day, a total of 1,643 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported nationwide. This is 30 fewer than the 1,673 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

However, it is 135 more than the mid-day count last Friday (1,508 cases).

Looking at the regions where confirmed cases were reported, 1,214 cases (73.9%) were from the Seoul metropolitan area, and 429 cases (26.1%) were from non-metropolitan areas. Although the data is as of 6 p.m., the proportion of cases in the metropolitan area, which had recently been around 80%, has slightly decreased, while the non-metropolitan area proportion has increased accordingly.

By city and province, the numbers are: Seoul 559, Gyeonggi 520, Incheon 135, Daegu 70, Chungnam 60, Jeonbuk 53, Busan 51, Gyeongnam 42, Chungbuk 35, Gangwon 30, Daejeon 28, Gwangju and Gyeongbuk 22 each, Ulsan 10, Jeonnam 4, and Jeju 2.

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, confirmed cases were reported in all except Sejong City.

Since there is still time until midnight when the count closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced at midnight on the 18th is expected to increase further to around 2,000. On the previous day, 335 additional cases were reported after 6 p.m., bringing the final total to 2,008.