COVID-19 New Cases 1,943... Spread Continues in the Capital Area

On the 15th, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, a temporary COVID-19 screening clinic is operating at the Yongin Rest Area on the Yeongdong Expressway in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, heading towards Incheon. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held a regular briefing that day and announced plans to install 13 additional temporary screening clinics at terminals, stations, and rest areas to provide diagnostic testing for travelers during the Chuseok holiday period. The installation locations include one each at Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and Busan City Hall in Seoul and Busan, respectively; three in Gangwon; one in Chungbuk; one in Jeonbuk; four in Jeonnam; and two in Gyeongnam. Additionally, four temporary screening clinics at highway rest areas, including Anseong Rest Area and Yongin Rest Area, which opened during last summer’s vacation season, will continue to operate. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 16th, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases dropped below 2,000 again in just one day, recording 1,943 cases. However, the metropolitan area still shows no signs of slowing down the spread, with the highest-ever daily new cases recorded as of midnight on Thursday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on this day, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,943 from the previous day to 279,930. The sources of new infections were 1,921 local transmissions and 22 imported cases.

Among the locally transmitted cases, 1,506 cases, accounting for 78.4%, were reported in the metropolitan area. Specifically, 717 cases in Seoul, 652 in Gyeonggi, and 137 in Incheon were confirmed. Although this scale of cases slightly decreased from 1,655 the previous day, it remains the highest number of cases recorded as of midnight on a Thursday, indicating that the spread in the metropolitan area has not yet subsided. The metropolitan area's weekly average daily cases also rose for the 12th consecutive day, reaching 1,340.3.

Non-metropolitan area cases totaled 415. By region, the confirmed cases were ▲Busan 56 ▲Daegu 47 ▲Gwangju 13 ▲Daejeon 36 ▲Ulsan 31 ▲Sejong 7 ▲Gangwon 36 ▲Chungbuk 40 ▲Chungnam 47 ▲Jeonbuk 20 ▲Jeonnam 8 ▲Gyeongbuk 31 ▲Gyeongnam 32 ▲Jeju 11.

There were 22 imported cases. Among them, 7 were detected during quarantine, and 15 were confirmed locally. Eight were Korean nationals, and 14 were foreigners.

Meanwhile, as of midnight on this day, 374,256 people received new COVID-19 vaccinations. The cumulative number of first-dose vaccinations reached 34,977,073. The vaccination rate against the total population is 68.1%, and 79.2% among those aged 18 and over. The number of fully vaccinated individuals increased by 438,976 from the previous day to 21,168,093. The vaccination rate for the second dose is 41.2% of the total population and 47.9% among those aged 18 and over.

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