Seoul City Reports 144 New COVID-19 Cases by 6 PM, 5 Fewer Than a Week Ago

On the 9th, when 564 new COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the daily count back into the 500s, citizens lined up to get tested at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that from midnight to 6 p.m. on the 10th, there were 144 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Seoul over an 18-hour period. Compared to the same time frame, this is 21 more cases than the previous day (the 9th) with 123 cases, and 5 fewer than one week ago (the 3rd) with 149 cases. The total number of confirmed cases for the entire day was 141 on the 9th and 184 on the 3rd.

The daily number of confirmed cases in Seoul generally remained in the 100s from mid-February, then sharply increased at the end of March and early April, fluctuating around an average of 200 cases over the past month. From the 1st to the 9th of this month, the daily confirmed cases in Seoul were 182→127→184→238→212→179→242→195→141.

The number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Seoul tends to decrease on weekends and public holidays, then increase on weekdays. Test results usually come out the next day, so the daily confirmed cases are influenced by the number of tests conducted the previous day. On the public holiday (Children's Day) on the 5th, Seoul conducted 22,661 tests, fewer than usual recently, then increased to 41,313 and 47,585 tests on the weekdays of the 6th and 7th, respectively, but sharply dropped to 25,996 on the 8th and 18,756 on the 9th during the weekend. Over the recent 15 days (April 25 to May 9), Seoul averaged 194 confirmed cases daily, with 32,154 tests conducted. The average positivity rate (confirmed cases relative to the previous day's tests) was about 0.6%.

All 144 new confirmed cases in Seoul are presumed to be domestic infections, with no imported cases reported. Among new cases related to cluster infections, there were 4 cases at an elementary school in Gangnam-gu, 3 cases at a workplace in Dongdaemun-gu (the third occurrence in May), 2 cases at a market in Jung-gu, 1 case at an academy in Gangnam-gu (occurred in May), 1 case at a restaurant in Gangbuk-gu, and 13 cases from other cluster infections. Among new cases not managed as cluster infections, 70 were contacts of existing confirmed cases, and 50 had unknown infection routes.

Among cluster infection cases, at an elementary school located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, at least 21 people nationwide, including students, staff, and their families, tested positive from the 5th to the 10th. The city is conducting tests for all staff and students, and the school has suspended in-person classes and switched to online classes until the 14th.

As of 6 p.m. on the 10th, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Seoul stands at 39,876. The total confirmed cases for the day will be compiled and announced the following day, the 11th, at midnight.

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