Record High in a Day... 893 Confirmed Cases in Seoul Alone by 9 PM

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Seoul city announced that the number of new COVID-19 cases in Seoul was tentatively counted at 893 from midnight to 9 p.m. on the 23rd, a period of 21 hours.

Although there are still 3 hours left to complete the daily count, it has already surpassed the 808 cases recorded on the 14th, setting a new record for the highest number of daily domestic COVID-19 cases since the outbreak began.

Compared to the same time frame, this is 253 more than the 640 cases reported the previous day and 150 more than the 743 cases on Thursday the 16th last week. The total daily cases were 645 on the 22nd and 746 on the 16th.

The daily number of cases in Seoul has surged since the start of the fourth wave this summer, breaking the record five times on July 6 (582 cases), July 13 (637 cases), last month’s 10th (660 cases) and 24th (677 cases), and this month’s 14th (808 cases). If the final count on the 23rd is confirmed, it will be the sixth highest record since July.

The spread within Seoul has accelerated this month. After recording over 800 cases for the first time on the 14th, the city saw four consecutive days of 700 cases from the 15th to the 18th last week. During the holiday period from the 20th to the 22nd, the number remained in the 600s for three consecutive days, maintaining the spread.

Additionally, as the number of tests surged on the last day of the holiday, the 22nd, the reflected test results caused a spike in cases on the 23rd. The daily number of tests in Seoul dropped from about 73,729 on Friday the 17th to between 30,000 and 50,000 during the holiday period from the 18th to the 21st, then sharply increased to 81,599 on the 22nd, the last day of the holiday.

Over the past week (16th to 22nd), Seoul’s positivity rate (the ratio of confirmed cases to tests conducted the previous day) averaged around 1.3%.

With 3 hours remaining until the final count, the total number of cases for the day may exceed 900, which would be the first time Seoul’s daily cases surpass 900.

As of this time, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Seoul is tentatively counted at 94,714.