274 New COVID-19 Cases Reported by 6 PM... Mid-300s Expected Tomorrow

Citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza are lining up to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Nearly 300 new domestic COVID-19 cases were reported again on the 15th.

According to the quarantine authorities and local governments including Seoul City, a total of 274 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day. This is 35 fewer than the 309 cases recorded at the same time the previous day. Since there is still time until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0 a.m. on the 16th is expected to increase to the mid-300s. On the previous day, 73 additional cases were reported after 6 p.m., bringing the final total to 382.

Looking at the regions where cases were confirmed that day, 189 cases (69.0%) were in the metropolitan area and 85 cases (31.0%) were in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, there were 115 cases in Gyeonggi, 62 in Seoul, 53 in Gyeongnam, 12 in Incheon, 11 in Gangwon, 7 in Busan, 4 in Daegu, 3 in Ulsan, 2 each in Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk, and 1 each in Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Jeju. No cases have yet been reported in Gwangju, Daejeon, Sejong, or Jeonnam.

In the recent week (March 9?15), the daily new confirmed cases were 446 → 470 → 465 → 488 → 490 → 459 → 382, averaging about 457 cases per day. Among these, the weekly average of locally transmitted cases, which is a key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, was approximately 438.6 cases, re-entering the 2.5 level range (nationwide 400 to 500 or more cases).

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