A Record-High 2,434 New Daily Cases of COVID-19: 1,747 Cases in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Alone

[경향신문]

On the afternoon of September 23, following the Chuseok holiday, citizens continue to line up to get tested for COVID-19 at a screening clinic set up at the Buk-gu Public Health Center in Gwangju. Yonhap News

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight September 24, authorities have confirmed 2,434 new cases of COVID-19 from the previous day. This is a record high since the novel coronavirus first landed in South Korea, and it broke the previous record of 2,221 cases (Aug. 11) by over 200. The number of new cases appears to have surged after an increasing number of tests were conducted following the Chuseok holiday.

Among the newly confirmed cases, 2,416 were transmitted locally, and eighteen entered from overseas. A regional analysis of the locally transmitted cases showed that 72.3% (1,747) occurred in the greater Seoul area with 903 cases in Seoul, 704 in Gyeonggi and 140 in Incheon. Authorities confirmed 29 cases in Busan, 128 in Daegu, 42 in Gwangju, 71 in Daejeon, 30 in Ulsan, 16 in Sejong, 43 in Gangwon, 60 in Chungcheongbuk-do, 75 in Chungcheongnam-do, 62 in Jeollabuk-do, 17 in Jeollanam-do, 45 in Gyeongsangbuk-do, 37 in Gyeongsangnam-do, and 14 in Jeju.

Seven more people died from the novel coronavirus pushing the total number of deaths up to 2,434 (fatality rate 0.82%). The number of patients in critical or serious condition was 309, three fewer than the previous day. Currently 28,206 people are in quarantine. Since the virus was first confirmed in the nation in January 2020, authorities have confirmed a total of 295,132 cases so far.

As of midnight this day, 37,132,188 people received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after 560,186 people received their shots the previous day. So far 72.3% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Fully vaccinated people who have received all the recommended doses of the vaccine increased by 375,869 to a total of 22,582,280 (44% of the population).