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were 1,487 new confirmed cases of Corona 19 yesterday (24th), the highest number of confirmed cases in history as of the weekend. The proportion of confirmed cases in non-metropolitan areas continues to increase, reaching 40% of the total.
Reporter Park Soo-jin.
<Reporter> There
were 1,487 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
Although the number of confirmed cases decreased compared to weekdays due to the decrease in the number of weekend tests, the number of confirmed cases on weekends alone exceeded the previous high of 1,454 in a week.
Excluding 65 imported cases from overseas, 1,422 cases are domestic cases.
876 people from the metropolitan area including 478 from Seoul, 116 from Gyeongnam and 546 from non-metropolitan areas.
The proportion of non-metropolitan areas among the total number of confirmed cases was 38.4%, which is another record high since the 4th pandemic.
The number of people traveling to rural areas increases during the holiday season, and the balloon effect, which attracts people to non-metropolitan areas due to strengthening of distance in the metropolitan area, seems to be the main causes.
The government is considering a plan to upgrade the entire non-metropolitan area to three stages.
Similar to the metropolitan area, measures to ban gatherings of more than three people after 6 pm are also being discussed in non-metropolitan areas.
[Lee Ki-il/Central Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters 1st Controller (yesterday): We are taking various measures for patients in non-metropolitan areas. People in the metropolitan area, please refrain from traveling to non-metropolitan areas, and residents of non-metropolitan areas, please be careful about infection.]
Measures to strengthen quarantine in non-metropolitan areas will be confirmed this afternoon after a major meeting presided over by President Moon Jae-in.
It is the first time since December 13, last year, when the third wave was in full swing, that the president directly presides over a major headquarters meeting.
Yesterday, 27,000 people received the Corona 19 vaccine a day, and 16.89 million people, 32.9% of the total population, completed the first dose.
13.4% of those who completed the second inoculation were vaccinated.