[Breaking News] 623 New Confirmed Cases by 9 PM... 39 More Than Previous Day Despite Weekend

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and other local governments, a total of 623 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide from 0:00 to 21:00 on the 17th.

This is an increase of 39 cases compared to 584 cases reported at the same time the previous day. Usually, the number of tests decreases on weekends, leading to fewer confirmed cases compared to weekdays, but on this day, the number of confirmed cases increased compared to the previous day's count.

By region, 389 cases (62.4%) were reported in the metropolitan area, and 234 cases (37.6%) in non-metropolitan areas.

By city and province, the numbers are as follows: Seoul 198, Gyeonggi 171, Gyeongnam 63, Ulsan and Gyeongbuk 28 each, Busan 26, Incheon 20, Jeonbuk 18, Chungnam 17, Gangwon 14, Daegu 13, Chungbuk 10, Gwangju 9, Daejeon 5, Jeonnam 2, and Jeju 1.

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 18th is expected to increase further to the high 600s, possibly reaching around 700 cases.

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