[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] As the domestic Omicron variant wave continues to decline, 90,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide as of 6 p.m. on the 14th.
According to Seoul and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on this day, 97,748 people across 17 cities and provinces nationwide were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This is 27,059 fewer than the 124,807 cases recorded during the same time frame the previous day.
Compared to 60,307 fewer cases than the 160,827 cases recorded at the same time one week ago on the 7th, and 123,093 fewer than the 220,841 cases recorded two weeks ago on the 31st of last month, a clear downward trend was observed.
It is the first time in eight weeks since February 17th (86,637 cases) that fewer than 100,000 new cases were reported by 6 p.m. on a Thursday. Since there is still time until midnight when the count is finalized, the number of new cases to be announced on the 15th is expected to be higher than this.
In response to the significant decrease in new cases, the government plans to lift most social distancing measures starting next week, including completely removing restrictions on private gathering sizes and operating hours of multi-use facilities. The new social distancing adjustment plan will be finalized after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the morning of the 15th.
As of 6 p.m. on this day, 45,574 new cases (46.6%) were reported in the metropolitan area, and 52,174 new cases (53.4%) were reported in non-metropolitan areas.
From the 8th, the daily new cases over one week were 205,312 → 185,536 → 164,459 → 90,917 → 210,743 → 195,419 → 148,443, averaging 171,547 cases per day.
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