By 9 pm on the 25th, when the government announced that the Omicron pandemic had passed the peak, more than 300,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed across the country. This is regarding 20,000 fewer people than at the same time the day before.
According to each local government, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 306,334 people in 17 cities and provinces across the country were confirmed to have been confirmed from 0 o’clock to 9 p.m. on the same day. 22,557 fewer than the 328,909 at the same time the previous day.
Compared to the same time period count (363,118) a week ago on the 18th, 56,784 fewer people, and 38,378 fewer than on the 11th (344,712) two weeks ago. As there is still time until midnight, when the counting ends, the number of new confirmed cases to be announced at 00:00 on the 26th is expected to increase further.
As of 6 p.m. that day, 148,377 (48.4%) were confirmed in the metropolitan area and 157,957 (51.6%) in non-metropolitan areas. By region, Gyeonggi 68,537, Seoul 64,099, Gyeongnam 21,624, Incheon 15,741, Gyeongbuk 15,194, Daegu 14,058, Chungnam 13,166, Jeonnam 12,849, 12,732 in Busan, 12,204 in Jeonbuk, 11,609 in Chungbuk, 10,202 in Daejeon, 1064 in Gangwon, 9,850 in Gwangju, 7,451 in Ulsan, 3,947 in Jeju and 3,007 in Sejong.
Meanwhile, the government announced on the same day that the Omicron pandemic had peaked and turned to a declining trend. Lee Ki-il, the first supervisor of the Central Accident Management Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said in a regular briefing earlier that day, “It reached its peak on the 17th, and it can be seen that it has turned to a declining trend.” The number of confirmed cases has shown a downward curve following 621,328 cases were reported on the 17th, a record high.
However, although it is true that the growth rate has recently slowed, some point out that it is necessary to monitor the situation for a week or two in consideration of the impact of social distancing measures and the spread of a new mutant virus, Stealth Omicron (BA.2).
Ryuho reporter ho@hankookilbo.com
