COVID-19 Confirmed Cases Reach 402 by 6 PM... May Exceed 500 Tomorrow

128 Cases in Gyeonggi, 125 in Seoul, Total 279 in the Capital Area, 123 in Non-Capital Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] As the spread of COVID-19 continues in various places, new domestic cases were reported consecutively on the 12th.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day, a total of 402 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide.

This is 44 more cases than the 358 recorded at the same time the previous day.

By region, 279 cases (69.4%) were in the metropolitan area, and 123 cases (30.6%) were in non-metropolitan areas.

By city and province, there were 128 cases in Gyeonggi, 125 in Seoul, 57 in Gyeongnam, 26 in Incheon, 17 in Busan, 14 in Gyeongbuk, 12 in Gangwon, 9 in Chungnam, 5 in Chungbuk, 4 in Daegu, 3 in Gwangju, and 1 each in Ulsan and Jeju.

No confirmed cases have yet been reported in Sejong, Daejeon, Jeonbuk, or Jeonnam.

Since there is still time until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced at 0:00 on the 13th is expected to increase further, reaching the mid-to-high 400s, and possibly around 500.

The previous day, 130 additional cases were reported after 6 p.m., bringing the final total to 488.

New confirmed cases surged to the 600s immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday (February 11?14) due to cluster infections, then decreased to the 300?400 range, but have recently increased again, approaching 500.

In the past week (March 6?12), the daily new confirmed cases were 418 → 416 → 346 → 446 → 470 → 465 → 488, with all but one day recording numbers in the 400s.

Among these, the weekly average of locally transmitted cases, a key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, stands at 418.3, re-entering the 2.5 level range (nationwide 400?500 or more).

Recent outbreaks have been linked to clusters in child care facilities, churches, academies, workplaces, and sports facilities.

In Dobong-gu, Seoul, a total of 17 confirmed cases were linked to a child care facility, and 14 infections occurred at a church in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.

Additionally, in Jinju, Gyeongnam, about 40 people have been confirmed positive so far, centered around a public bathhouse visited by a previously confirmed case.

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