2776 New COVID-19 Cases by 6 PM... 404 Fewer Than Previous Day

Citizens waiting to be tested at a screening clinic set up at the Gangseo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] On Saturday the 4th, nearly 3,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide by the afternoon.

According to the quarantine authorities and local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day, a total of 2,776 confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This was 404 fewer than the previous day's record high of 3,180 cases during the same time period, but the spread has not slowed down.

Since there is still time until midnight when the count closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced at 0 a.m. on the 5th is expected to increase further. On the previous day, about 2,200 additional cases were reported by midnight, marking the highest number of 5,352 cases since the domestic COVID-19 outbreak began.

On this day, 1,803 cases (64.9%) were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area, and 973 cases (35.1%) occurred in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, cases were reported as follows: Seoul 897, Gyeonggi 603, Incheon 303, Busan 205, Chungnam 119, Daegu 109, Gyeongnam 101, Gyeongbuk 94, Gangwon 78, Daejeon and Chungbuk 70 each, Jeonnam 40, Gwangju 29, Jeonbuk 26, Jeju 17, Ulsan 8, and Sejong 7, with confirmed cases in all 17 cities and provinces.