539 New COVID-19 Cases Reported by 6 PM... 700s Expected Tomorrow

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues, confirmed cases surged across the country on the 11th.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, a total of 539 new confirmed cases were reported nationwide from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day. This is 32 more than the 507 cases recorded at the same time the previous day. This is also the highest interim tally in the one-week period from the 5th to that day (405 → 459 → 451 → 516 → 481 → 507 → 539).

Especially, since there is still time left until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0:00 on the 12th is expected to increase further, reaching at least the high 600s to the 700s. On the previous day, the number was 507 as of 6 p.m., but the final count at midnight was 689, an increase of 182 cases in six hours.

Among the 539 cases in the interim tally on that day, 365 cases (67.7%) were from the metropolitan area, and 174 cases (32.3%) were from non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, there were 160 cases each in Seoul and Gyeonggi, 45 in Incheon, 29 in Gangwon, 27 in Daegu, 24 in Busan, 20 in Ulsan, 17 each in Chungbuk and Gyeongnam, 11 in Gyeongbuk, 9 in Daejeon, 6 each in Chungnam and Jeonbuk, 4 in Gwangju, 3 in Jeonnam, and 1 in Sejong. Among the 17 cities and provinces, only Jeju reported no additional confirmed cases.

As the third wave of COVID-19 prolongs, the number of new confirmed cases continues to surge daily. Since the beginning of this month, daily cases have recorded 451 → 511 → 540 → 628 → 577 → 631 → 615 → 592 → 671 → 680 → 689, maintaining a range of 400 to 600 cases. Recently, the increase has steepened, threatening to reach the 700 mark.

The majority of new confirmed cases are locally transmitted cases infected within their regions. During this period, locally transmitted cases were tallied as 420 → 492 → 516 → 600 → 559 → 599 → 580 → 564 → 647 → 643 → 673.

By region, new cluster infections are rapidly emerging in the metropolitan area, where patients are concentrated. Major cases include a subway station in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul (cumulative 10 cases), a daytime care center in Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi (26 cases), and a family and securities company in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon (27 cases). In non-metropolitan areas, confirmed cases have been reported in clusters such as other lessons in Gangneung-si, Gangwon (11 cases), a restaurant in Changwon-si, Gyeongnam (10 cases), and a music club in Changwon-si (11 cases).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.