As of 6 PM, Seoul reports 578 new COVID-19 cases... 112 more than the previous day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae]From midnight to 6 p.m. on the 28th, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Seoul was preliminarily counted at 578 over 18 hours.

According to Seoul City on that day, compared to the same time frame, this is 112 more than the previous day (27th) with 466 cases, 67 more than last Tuesday (21st) with 511 cases, and 39 more than two weeks ago (14th) with 539 cases. The final daily total confirmed cases were 842 on the 27th, 644 on the 21st, and 808 on the 14th.

The spread of COVID-19 in Seoul has been worsening since the Chuseok holiday.

From the day after the holiday, the 23rd, through the 27th, the highest records for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were consecutively recorded, with the 24th’s 1,222 cases being the highest daily record ever.

The number of tests was the highest ever at 110,589 on the 23rd, then remained in the 100,000 range on the 24th, 80,000 range on the 25th, and 50,000 range on the 26th, before rebounding to 98,428 on the 27th.

If the pattern of the positivity rate (new confirmed cases compared to the previous day’s tests) remaining between 0.9% and 1.9% over the past two weeks continues, the final total of new cases on the 28th could be around 1,000.

Among the 578 new confirmed cases in Seoul, 282 cases (48.8%) had unknown infection routes. New confirmed cases with confirmed contact with existing cases but not managed as cluster infections numbered 261, accounting for 45.2% of the total.

New confirmed cases from major cluster infections include 10 from Garak Market in Songpa-gu, 8 from Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, 4 from Jungbu Market in Jung-gu, and 1 from a workplace in Geumcheon-gu, with an additional 8 from other cluster infections. Four new cases were imported from overseas in Seoul.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Seoul was preliminarily counted at 99,075. The final total number of confirmed cases for the day will be compiled as of midnight on the 29th and announced in the morning.