On the 19th, international arrivals are moving to a hotel in downtown Seoul for self-quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid snowfall. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] As the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant has intensified in South Korea, confirmed cases surged nationwide on the 19th.
According to health authorities and local governments including Seoul City, from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day, a total of 4,499 people tested positive for COVID-19 across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This is 243 more than the 4,256 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.
Due to the effects of social distancing and the expansion of the third dose of vaccination, the downward trend in confirmed cases that had continued for three weeks since late last month has been broken, showing signs of a renewed increase in the spread.
As of 6 p.m. on that day, the number of confirmed cases was 1,730 more than the 2,769 cases recorded at the same time one week earlier on the 12th, and 1,622 more than the 2,877 cases recorded two weeks earlier on the 5th.
Since there is still time until midnight when the tally is finalized, the number of new confirmed cases to be announced on the 20th is expected to increase further.
Of the new confirmed cases on that day, 2,517 (55.9%) were from the Seoul metropolitan area, and 1,982 (44.1%) were from non-metropolitan areas.
By city and province, the numbers were: Gyeonggi 1,223, Seoul 959, Gwangju 356, Daegu 353, Incheon 335, Gyeongbuk 209, Chungnam 198, Busan 184, Chungbuk 140, Gyeongnam 139, Jeonnam 129, Gangwon 94, Jeonbuk 84, Daejeon 51, Ulsan 38, Sejong 4, and Jeju 3. Confirmed cases were reported in all 17 cities and provinces.
The fourth wave of COVID-19 in South Korea, which began in early July last year, has continued for seven months.
From the 13th for one week, the daily new confirmed cases were 4,164 → 4,538 → 4,420 → 4,193 → 3,857 → 471 → 5,805, averaging about 4,435 cases per day.
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