As of 9 PM, 42,316 COVID-19 cases nationwide... 10,000 more than last week

On the 18th, as the number of new COVID-19 cases more than doubled compared to last week, soaring to over 33,000, citizens were getting tested at the screening clinic of Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, 33,248 new cases were added, bringing the total cumulative cases to 25,164,695. Among the new cases, 33,161 were domestic transmissions, and 87 were imported cases. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] As of 9 PM on the 24th, over 40,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide.

According to Seoul city and other local governments, from midnight to 9 PM, 42,316 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed.

This is an increase of 28,492 cases compared to the same time on the previous Sunday (13,824 cases), rising to about three times higher. This is attributed to an increase in the number of diagnostic tests conducted over the weekend, which had previously decreased.

Compared to one week ago on the 17th (31,702 cases), there was an increase of 10,614 cases, and compared to two weeks ago on the 10th (14,975 cases), an increase of 27,341 cases.

The number of new cases over the past week from the 18th were 33,223 → 29,493 → 25,382 → 24,751 → 26,906 → 26,256 → 14,302. The weekly daily average as of this day is 25,759 cases.

Previously, health authorities projected the 7th wave of COVID-19 to begin in early December.

At a regular briefing, Jeong Ki-seok, head of the COVID-19 Special Response Team and member of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, stated, "If the weekly daily average remains around 20,000 and then suddenly shows an increasing trend, only then can we say that the resurgence has begun." He also noted, "The starting point and magnitude of the wave may vary depending on how well the immunity built so far and the winter-adapted vaccines are received by the public."

As of 9 PM on this day, 24,262 cases (57.3%) were confirmed in the metropolitan area, and 18,054 cases (42.7%) in non-metropolitan areas.

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