513 New Confirmed Cases by 6 PM... 26 Fewer Than Yesterday

Medical staff at the Seongpa-gu Public Health Center screening clinic in Seoul are changing gloves after completing citizen testing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, as of 6 p.m. on the 23rd, a total of 513 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed nationwide. This is 26 fewer than the 539 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 24th is expected to increase to the low 600s, possibly reaching the mid to high 600s. On the previous day, 106 cases were added in the six hours after 6 p.m., bringing the final total to 645.

Looking at the regions where new cases were confirmed, 397 cases (77.4%) were in the metropolitan area, and 116 cases (22.6%) were in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, there were 232 in Seoul, 156 in Gyeonggi, 28 in Gyeongbuk, 20 in Busan, 19 in Gyeongnam, 14 in Daejeon, 9 each in Incheon and Ulsan, 5 each in Gangwon and Chungnam, 4 each in Chungbuk and Jeonbuk, 3 each in Jeonnam and Jeju, and 1 each in Daegu and Sejong.

From the 17th to the 23rd, the number of new confirmed cases over the past week was 540 → 507 → 482 → 429 → 357 → 394 → 645, averaging about 479 cases per day.

Among these, the average daily number of locally transmitted cases, which is a key indicator for adjusting the 'social distancing' level and gauging the community spread situation, rose to about 445, reaching the mid-400s.

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