COVID-19, 90,228 Cases Confirmed by 9 PM... Nearly 100,000 Expected Tomorrow

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Amid the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant, more than 90,000 confirmed cases were reported nationwide by 9 p.m. on the 16th.

According to Seoul and other local governments, from midnight to 9 p.m. on the same day, 90,228 people across 17 cities and provinces nationwide were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This is 5,114 more than the previous highest count of 85,114 cases recorded at the same time the day before. Compared to the count at the same time one week ago on the 9th (48,437 cases), it is about 1.9 times higher, and compared to two weeks ago on the 2nd (17,920 cases), it is 5.0 times higher.

The 90,228 cases counted by 9 p.m. is only 215 fewer than the 90,443 new cases reported as of midnight that day. Nearly 30,000 cases were reported in the Gyeonggi region alone, with most regions recording the highest number of cases ever at the same time. Since there is still time until midnight when the count closes, the new cases to be announced on the 17th are expected to approach 100,000.

Considering the trend of new cases doubling every week, there is a possibility that around 200,000 cases per day could occur by the end of this month. The health authorities expect new cases to be between 130,000 and 170,000 by the end of this month, while the National Institute for Mathematical Sciences predicts a maximum of 360,000 cases per day in early next month.

As of 9 p.m. on the day, 54,830 new cases (60.8%) were reported in the metropolitan area, and 35,398 new cases (39.2%) in non-metropolitan areas. By city and province, the numbers are: Gyeonggi 28,338, Seoul 19,700, Incheon 6,792, Busan 4,961, Gyeongnam 413, Daegu 3,781, Chungnam 2,950, Gyeongbuk 2,896, Daejeon 2,702, Jeonbuk 2,574, Gwangju 2,470, Chungbuk 2,169, Jeonnam 1,893, Gangwon 1,730, Ulsan 1,691, Jeju 910, and Sejong 658.

Since the Omicron variant became the dominant strain in Korea, new confirmed cases have surged. Over the week from the 10th, daily new cases were 54,120 → 53,920 → 54,938 → 56,431 → 54,616 → 57,175 → 90,443, averaging 60,235 cases per day.

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