Will the day you take off your mask become a reality? By 9 a.m., the number of confirmed cases had decreased by 100,000.

Citizens who visited the Corona 19 temporary screening center at Seoul Station in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 3rd are waiting for their turn for rapid antigen test and PCR test. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]

By 9 pm on the 3rd, the number of new confirmed cases has plummeted by more than 100,000 from the same time period the previous day.

Accordingly, expectations are rising that the day to take off the mask outdoors is just around the corner.

According to local governments including Seoul, 127,892 people from 17 cities and provinces across the country were confirmed with COVID-19 from 00:00 to 9pm on the same day.

Compared to the same time zone count (183,895) a week ago on the 27th of last month, there were 56,003 fewer, and 2 weeks ago, on the 20th of last month, the number decreased by 76,162 compared to the same time period (204,054).

Even taking into account the decrease in the number of tests due to holidays, it is a sharp drop of 104,034 from 239,926 during the same time period the day before. However, as there is still time until midnight, when the counting ends, the number of new confirmed cases to be announced on the morning of the 4th is expected to be higher than this.

For two weeks from the 4th, the maximum number of private gatherings will be increased from 8 to 10, and the business hours of restaurants and cafes will be extended from 11pm to midnight. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]

Most of the new confirmed cases reported by 9 p.m. on the same day occurred in non-metropolitan areas.

A total of 65,917 people (51.5%) occurred in non-metropolitan areas ▲ Jeonbuk 8519 ▲ Gyeongnam 7387 ▲ Gyeongbuk 6253 ▲ Chungnam 6008 ▲ Gwangju 5702 ▲ Jeonnam 5688 ▲ Gangwon 5222 ▲ Daejeon 4566 ▲ Chungbuk 3956 People ▲ Daegu 3259 ▲ Busan 3110 ▲ Ulsan 2,482 ▲ Jeju 2135 ▲ Sejong 1,630

The remaining 61,75 cases (48.5%) occurred in the metropolitan area. ▲ Gyeonggi 35,941 ▲ Seoul 20,879 ▲ Incheon 5137.

The number of daily new confirmed cases for the last week from the 28th of last month was 187,182 → 347,490 → 422,597 → 30718 → 288,273 → 264,171 → 234,301 on average. About 294,105 people were recorded.

The number of new confirmed cases has been declining since peaking on the 30th of last month, and remained at 200,000 for the third day until this day (the 2nd case).

The government announced on the 1st on the 1st that it will consider lifting all measures except for the core rules, such as ‘wearing an indoor mask’, if the COVID-19 epidemic turns to a marked decrease over the next two weeks, and the critically ill patients and the medical system are stably managed. As such, it is an observation that the day to take off the mask outdoors is getting closer.

Currently, many countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, which have passed the peak of the Omicron pandemic, have already switched to autonomous wearing of outdoor masks and are accelerating their daily recovery.

On the other hand, quarantine authorities will apply a more relaxed ‘restriction of 10 people for private gatherings and business hours at midnight’ from the 4th for two weeks from the 4th.

[이상현 매경닷컴 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]