1565 People by 6 PM, 473 More Than Yesterday... Will It Exceed 2000 Tomorrow? (Summary)

1,108 Cases in the Capital Area, 457 Cases in Non-Capital Areas
Weekend and Holiday Effects Disappear, Cases Surge Again

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] As the fourth wave of COVID-19 continues, confirmed cases surged across the country on the 31st.

According to health authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, a total of 1,565 new confirmed cases tested positive for COVID-19 from midnight to 6 p.m. on that day. This is 473 more than the 1,092 cases recorded at the same time the previous day. The decline in testing during weekends and holidays has disappeared, leading to a rapid increase again.

Looking at the regions where confirmed cases were reported that day, 1,108 cases (70.8%) were from the metropolitan area, and 457 cases (29.2%) were from non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, Seoul reported 565 cases, Gyeonggi 432, Incheon 111, Chungnam 66, Busan 56, Daegu 50, Gyeongnam 49, Chungbuk and Gyeongbuk 43 each, Ulsan 35, Gangwon 34, Gwangju 26, Daejeon 21, Jeonbuk 16, Jeju 10, and Jeonnam 8. Confirmed cases were reported in 16 cities and provinces nationwide, excluding Sejong.

Since there is still time left until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0:00 on September 1 is expected to increase further to around 1,800 to 1,900, possibly reaching about 2,000. On the previous day, 280 cases were added after 6 p.m., closing at a final count of 1,372.

The fourth wave, which began in early last month centered on the metropolitan area, has spread to various non-metropolitan regions, continuing to become nationwide. The daily confirmed cases have remained in four digits for 56 consecutive days since August 7 (1,211 cases).

Looking at the new confirmed cases over the past week (August 25?31), the daily counts were 2,154 → 1,882 → 1,838 → 1,791 → 1,619 → 1,486 → 1,372, averaging about 1,735 cases per day. Excluding imported cases, the average daily locally transmitted cases were approximately 1,689.

Recent major cluster outbreaks show new infections confirmed in workplaces, multi-use facilities, and entertainment bars. At a workplace in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, three additional cases were confirmed, raising the cumulative total to 51. Another workplace in Eunpyeong-gu confirmed a total of 40 infections. At a cement manufacturing company in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi (second case), 14 people tested positive since the first confirmed case on the 27th. A PC bang in Yongin-si reported a total of 27 infections. Additionally, related to an entertainment bar in Jung-gu, Ulsan, a total of 14 people, including five users, tested positive.

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