656 New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed by 6 PM Today... 75 More Than Same Time Yesterday (Update)

On the afternoon of the 17th, citizens are waiting in line to get tested at a temporary screening clinic for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) set up at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall on Taepyeong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] As cluster infections continue nationwide, the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is intensifying. As of 6 p.m. on the 19th, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases reached 656.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments on the 19th, from midnight to 6 p.m. on the same day, a total of 656 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide.

This is 75 more than the 581 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

By region, the metropolitan area accounted for 435 cases (66.3%), and non-metropolitan areas accounted for 221 cases (33.7%).

By city and province, Gyeonggi recorded the highest number with 247 cases, followed by Seoul with 122, Incheon 66, Gangwon 51, Gyeongnam 41, Gyeongbuk and Busan each 22, Jeonbuk 20, Chungnam 16, Jeju 12, Chungbuk and Daegu each 10, Gwangju 8, Ulsan 5, Jeonnam 3, and Daejeon 1. Sejong reported no additional confirmed cases today, continuing from the previous day.

Considering the recent trend of increasing confirmed cases after 6 p.m., the number of new confirmed cases announced at midnight on the 20th is expected to rise further.

In fact, the number of confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. the previous day was 581, but the final count increased to 1,053.

Looking at major infection cases, cluster outbreaks continued mainly in religious facilities, nursing hospitals, and medical institutions.

At a small church in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, 13 people were consecutively confirmed positive, and an epidemiological investigation is underway. At the Chamsarang Nursing Home in Cheongju, Chungbuk, 61 people have been infected in a mass outbreak as of today.

Meanwhile, the number of new confirmed cases over the past week was 1,030 on December 13 → 718 on the 14th → 880 on the 15th → 1,078 on the 16th → 1,014 on the 17th → and 1,053 on the 18th. The daily average is 976.7 cases.

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