New COVID-19 Cases Drop Below 1,400 Due to Holiday Effect... 6 More Deaths in a Day (Update)

Local cases 1,323, imported cases 50

On the last day of the Liberation Day holiday, the 16th, a citizen is being tested at the temporary COVID-19 screening site set up at Anseong Rest Area in the Seoul direction. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea has dropped below 1,400 for the first time in two weeks. However, since this reflects a decrease in testing during the Liberation Day holiday period, it is difficult to say that the spread has slowed down.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the 17th, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,373 from the previous day, totaling 226,854. There were 1,323 locally transmitted cases and 50 imported cases. In the metropolitan area, local cases were recorded as 361 in Seoul, 372 in Gyeonggi, and 77 in Incheon, totaling 810. Among non-metropolitan areas, Gyeongnam, where the recent spread has been severe, was the only region with triple-digit new cases at 103. This was followed by Busan with 65, Daegu 45, Chungbuk 43, Chungnam 42, Gyeongbuk and Jeju each with 37, Daejeon 33, Gangwon 23, Jeonbuk and Jeonnam each 22, Ulsan 21, Gwangju 17, and Sejong 3. The proportion of cases outside the metropolitan area reached 38.8%.

There were 50 additional imported cases. Among them, 14 were detected during quarantine, and 36 were confirmed in the community. Of these, 31 were Korean nationals and 19 were foreigners.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day was 109,057. Compared to over 150,000 tests on weekdays last week, this is about two-thirds of that number. At temporary screening clinics set up in the metropolitan area, 59,814 tests were conducted, confirming 201 cases, while 17,043 tests were conducted at non-metropolitan temporary screening clinics, confirming 90 cases.

As the number of confirmed cases increases, deaths are also rising. The number of critically ill patients increased by one from the previous day to 354. The cumulative death toll rose by six to 2,173.

Meanwhile, according to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, 661,839 people received their first vaccine dose the previous day. The cumulative number of first-dose recipients reached 23,053,580. The first-dose vaccination rate is 44.9%. Among them, 255,278 people completed their vaccination, bringing the total number of fully vaccinated individuals to 9,996,839, with a completion rate of 19.5% of the population.

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