By 6 PM, 295,240 Confirmed Cases Nationwide... 41,787 Fewer Than Previous Day

On the 23rd, when the number of new COVID-19 cases approached 500,000 amid the ongoing pandemic, citizens were undergoing diagnostic tests at a temporary COVID-19 screening site set up at Seoul Station Plaza. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, 490,881 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 10,427,247. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As the Omicron variant continues to spread, nearly 300,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide by 6 p.m. on the 23rd.

According to Seoul and other local governments, from midnight to 6 p.m. on the same day, 295,240 people across 17 cities and provinces nationwide were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This is 41,787 fewer than the 337,027 cases recorded at the same time the previous day.

With the total cumulative confirmed cases in the country surpassing 10 million (10,427,247 as of midnight on the day), the Omicron wave is understood to have entered its peak phase.

Although the increase in confirmed cases is showing signs of stagnation, the government believes that monitoring the situation further this week is necessary to predict when the wave will begin to decline.

As of 6 p.m., new confirmed cases were 151,736 (51.4%) in the metropolitan area and 143,504 (48.6%) in non-metropolitan areas.

By region, the numbers are: Gyeonggi 70,440, Seoul 61,016, Incheon 20,280, Gyeongnam 18,388, Chungnam 15,245, Gyeongbuk 14,399, Busan 13,635, Jeonnam 12,812, Gwangju 11,690, Daegu 11,496, Jeonbuk 10,109, Gangwon 10,265, Ulsan 8,362, Daejeon 6,822, Chungbuk 5,661, Jeju 3,488, and Sejong 1,132.

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