18,811 New COVID-19 Cases Nationwide by 6 PM... 1,615 More Than Yesterday

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Amid the spread of the Omicron variant, COVID-19 cases have been continuously reported nationwide, with about 18,000 confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. on the 4th.

According to the quarantine authorities, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on the same day, a total of 18,811 people tested positive for COVID-19 across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This is 1,615 more than the previous day’s record high of 17,196 during the same time period. The number of confirmed cases is expected to rise even more sharply starting next week, as the nationwide movement during the Lunar New Year holiday begins to take effect.

The count as of 6 p.m. on this day is 1.8 times higher than the 10,629 cases reported by 6 p.m. a week ago on the 28th of last month. Compared to 4,552 cases at the same time two weeks ago on the 21st of last month, it has increased fourfold. The number of confirmed cases is nearly doubling every week. Since there is still time until midnight when the count closes, the number of new confirmed cases to be announced on the 5th is expected to increase further.

On this day, 9,636 new cases (51.2%) were reported in the metropolitan area, and 9,175 cases (48.8%) in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, the numbers are as follows: Gyeonggi 3,986, Seoul 3,722, Incheon 1,928, Busan 1,515, Daegu and Gyeongbuk each 1,459, Daejeon 989, Gwangju 950, Gangwon 606, Chungbuk 514, Chungnam 419, Jeonnam 329, Sejong 276, Gyeongnam 267, Jeonbuk 164, Jeju 157, Ulsan 71. Confirmed cases were reported in all 17 cities and provinces.

The daily number of new confirmed cases in South Korea is breaking records almost every day. The daily new confirmed cases reported over the past week from the 29th of last month were 17,512 → 17,528 → 17,079 → 18,341 → 20,269 → 22,907 → 27,443, averaging about 20,154 cases per day.

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