As of 6 PM, 344,184 Confirmed Cases Nationwide... 31,014 Fewer Than Yesterday

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] As the Omicron variant spreads, more than 340,000 confirmed cases have been reported nationwide by 6 p.m. on the 16th.

According to Seoul and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on this day, 344,184 people across 17 cities and provinces nationwide were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

This is 31,014 fewer than the previous day's record high of 375,198 cases during the same time period.

It is 1.3 times the number from a week ago on the 9th (260,615 cases) and 2.2 times the number from two weeks ago on the 2nd (153,841 cases).

Since the 14th, the health authorities have classified people who tested positive not only by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests but also by professional rapid antigen tests conducted at hospitals and clinics as confirmed cases, which appears to have significantly increased the recent number of new confirmed cases.

With time remaining until midnight when the tally closes, the number of new confirmed cases announced on the 17th is expected to increase further.

As of 6 p.m. on this day, new confirmed cases were 183,781 (53.4%) in the metropolitan area and 160,403 (46.6%) in non-metropolitan areas.

By region, Gyeonggi had 95,996 cases, Seoul 65,023, Gyeongnam 28,361, Incheon 22,762, Busan 20,265, Gyeongbuk 14,926, Daegu 14,649, Chungnam 14,480, Gwangju 12,114, Ulsan 11,520, Gangwon 9,674, Jeonnam 9,181, Daejeon 7,597, Chungbuk 7,564, Jeju 4,421, Jeonbuk 4,418, and Sejong 1,233.

From the 10th for one week, the daily new confirmed cases were 327,532 → 282,978 → 383,658 → 350,184 → 309,782 → 362,329 → 400,741, averaging about 345,315 cases per day.

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