COVID-19: 366 New Cases Nationwide by 6 PM... 400s Expected Tomorrow

Seoul 125 - Gyeonggi 116 - Incheon 23, Total 264 in Capital Area, 102 Outside
36 More Than Same Time Yesterday... Sporadic Infections Continue Amid '3rd Wave'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] As the spread of COVID-19 continues across the country, new confirmed cases have been reported nationwide.

According to the quarantine authorities and local governments including Seoul City, from midnight to 6 p.m. on the 18th, a total of 366 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed nationwide. This is 36 more than the 330 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

Looking at the regions with confirmed cases, 264 cases (72.1%) were in the metropolitan area, and 102 cases (27.9%) were in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, Seoul reported 125 cases, Gyeonggi 116, Gyeongnam 36, Gangwon 31, Incheon 23, Busan 6, Jeonbuk 5, Daegu, Daejeon, Chungbuk, Chungnam, and Gyeongbuk each 4, Ulsan 3, and Gwangju 1. Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Sejong, Jeonnam, and Jeju have not yet reported any confirmed cases.

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 19th is expected to increase further to the 400s. If unexpected cluster infections occur during the nighttime, the number of confirmed cases could rise to the mid-to-high 400s.

The impact of the "third wave" that began in earnest in mid-November last year is still ongoing. New confirmed cases surged to the 600s immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday (February 11?14) due to successive cluster infections, then decreased to the 300?400 range, but recently have shown signs of increasing again. From the 12th of this month to today, the daily new confirmed cases over the past week were 488 → 490 → 459 → 382 → 363 → 469 → 445, averaging about 442 cases per day.

Among these, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the daily average of locally transmitted cases, stands at 424, remaining within the 2.5 level range (nationwide 400?500 or more) for nine consecutive days since the 10th (400 cases). Recent trends show infections occurring in everyday settings such as family and acquaintances gatherings, workplaces, and bathhouses.

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