435 People by 6 PM, 8 More Than Previous Day... 500s Expected Tomorrow

On the 1st, COVID-19 vaccinations for elderly people aged 75 and older began at the vaccination center set up in the Sports and Culture Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where seniors are receiving their shots. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] According to the quarantine authorities and local governments including Seoul City, from 0:00 to 18:00 today, a total of 435 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide.

This is 8 more than the 427 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

By region, 305 cases (70.1%) were from the metropolitan area, and 130 cases (29.9%) were from non-metropolitan areas.

By city and province, there were 143 cases in Seoul, 142 in Gyeonggi, 28 in Busan, 27 in Gyeongbuk, 20 in Incheon, 16 in Chungbuk, 14 in Daegu, 12 in Gyeongnam, 9 in Daejeon, 7 in Gangwon, 5 in Chungnam, 4 each in Ulsan and Jeonbuk, and 2 each in Sejong and Jeju.

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, no confirmed cases have yet been reported in Gwangju and Jeonnam.

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 2nd is expected to increase further, reaching the 500s.

The previous day, 124 additional cases were reported after 18:00, closing at a final count of 551.

The '3rd wave' of the pandemic, which began in earnest in mid-November last year, has been ongoing for five months.

In the past week (March 26 to April 1), the daily new confirmed cases were 490 → 505 → 482 → 382 → 447 → 506 → 551, averaging about 480 cases per day.

Among these, the key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level, the average daily locally transmitted cases, was 463.6, still within the level 2.5 range (nationwide 400 to 500 or more cases).

Regarding major infection cases, 20 additional infections were confirmed related to a karaoke bar in Busan, bringing the cumulative total to 136, and 10 more cases were added in a cluster outbreak at an elementary school in Sejong City, increasing the total confirmed cases to 21.

Additionally, new cases were reported related to a pub in Seo-gu, Daejeon (total 28), a telemarketing company in Seocho-gu, Seoul (23), a workplace in Jung-gu, Daegu (31), a senior welfare center in Yeonje-gu, Busan (47), and a clinic in Wonju, Gangwon (16).

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