1570 New COVID-19 Cases Nationwide by 6 PM... Unabated Spread Continues During the Holiday

On the 17th, ahead of the major national holiday Chuseok, citizens lined up to get tested at the temporary screening clinic at the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the Chuseok holiday begins and nationwide movement increases, the spread of the 4th wave of COVID-19 continued on this day as well.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul city, and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on this day, 1,570 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported nationwide. This is 73 fewer than the 1,643 cases recorded at the same time the previous day, but 314 more than the 1,256 cases reported at 6 p.m. last Saturday (the 11th), one week ago.

In the metropolitan area, 1,223 cases (77.9%) were confirmed, indicating that the spread is still centered around the metropolitan area. There were 578 cases in Seoul, 478 in Gyeonggi, and 167 in Incheon.

In non-metropolitan areas, 347 cases (22.1%) were confirmed. The breakdown is as follows: ▲Busan 45 ▲Chungnam 45 ▲Daegu 44 ▲Gyeongbuk 41 ▲Gangwon 37 ▲Daejeon 31 ▲Chungbuk 30 ▲Gyeongnam 22 ▲Jeonbuk 14 ▲Gwangju 13 ▲Ulsan 13 ▲Jeonnam 9 ▲Jeju 2 ▲Sejong 1.

Considering the trend of case increases until midnight when the tally closes, the total number of confirmed cases for the day is expected to be in the range of 1,800 to 1,900. Typically, the increase in confirmed cases after 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays is not as large as on weekdays.

Despite the start of the Chuseok holiday with increased nationwide movement, the spread of the 4th wave continues. As of midnight on this day, 2,087 new COVID-19 cases were added, bringing the cumulative total to 284,022. This is the highest number of new daily cases recorded on a Saturday at midnight since the domestic outbreak of COVID-19 last year.

The weekly average daily new cases, an indicator of the spread, also reached a record high of 1,798.7. The metropolitan area’s average daily new cases also continue to rise, reaching 1,384.3.

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