897 Confirmed Cases Nationwide by 6 PM... 25 Fewer Than Yesterday

Capital Region 74.6%, Non-Capital Region 25.4%

On the 18th, when COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 began, a student received a COVID-19 vaccine at Hongik Hospital in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. From this day, vaccinations for adolescents aged 16 to 17 (born in 2004?2005) and pregnant women started. Additionally, advance reservations for vaccinations for adolescents aged 12 to 15 (born in 2006?2009) began at 8 p.m. on the same day. Reservations will continue until the 12th of next month, and vaccinations will be administered from the 1st to the 27th of next month. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] As the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea slows down, the number of confirmed cases nationwide as of 6 p.m. on the 18th has slightly decreased compared to the previous day.

According to the quarantine authorities and local governments including Seoul City, a total of 897 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide from midnight to 6 p.m. on this day.

This is 25 fewer than the 922 cases recorded at the same time the previous day, and 174 fewer than the 1,071 cases reported on Monday, the 11th, a week ago.

Looking at the regions where confirmed cases were reported on this day, 669 cases (74.6%) were in the Seoul metropolitan area, and 228 cases (25.4%) were in non-metropolitan areas.

By city and province, there were 324 cases in Gyeonggi, 254 in Seoul, 91 in Incheon, 42 in Gyeongbuk, 39 in Chungbuk, 38 in Busan, 33 in Daegu, 18 each in Gyeongnam and Chungnam, 9 in Jeonbuk, 7 in Gangwon, 5 each in Daejeon and Jeju, 4 in Jeonnam, and 3 in Gwangju.

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Ulsan and Sejong have not yet reported any confirmed cases.

Since there is still time left until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced as of 0 a.m. on the 19th is expected to increase further, reaching around the 1,100 range.

The previous day, 128 cases were added after 6 p.m., closing at a final count of 1,050 cases.

The fourth wave of the domestic outbreak, which began in early July, has continued for over three months.

Although the scale of the outbreak has shifted to a downward trend, small-scale cluster infections continue to occur in everyday life spaces such as schools, nursing hospitals, and workplaces.

At a nursing hospital in Guro-gu, Seoul, where the first confirmed case was reported on the 11th, a total of 11 people have tested positive. At a middle school in Dongjak-gu, since the 14th, 11 people in total?including 5 students, 4 staff members, and 2 family members?have tested positive.

Additional infections are being confirmed in existing cluster infections as well.

At a manufacturing company in Haman-gun, Gyeongnam (the third case), 8 additional infections were confirmed during contact tracing, increasing the cumulative confirmed cases to 59. In addition, infections continue to be confirmed in cases related to temporarily employed foreign workers in Gyeongnam (66 cases) and a club in Jung-gu, Daegu (32 cases).

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