Seoul reports record-high daily COVID-19 cases

Published : Dec 17, 2020 - 10:14 Updated : Dec 17, 2020 - 10:14

People wait in long lines to take coronavirus tests at a public health center in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

The number of new daily coronavirus patients in Seoul rose by an all-time high of 423 on Wednesday, its deputy mayor said Thursday.

Kim Woo-young disclosed the capital's latest data on a CBS Radio talk show, saying the nation's daily caseload also reached 1,014 the same day.

Seoul's previous record for new daily COVID-19 cases was set on Dec. 12, when 399 more people tested positive.

As the spread of the coronavirus accelerated from early this month, the capital's top 15 daily caseload records were all set between Dec. 2 and Wednesday.

The highest record of 212 cases for the first 11 months of this year, which was set on Nov. 25, was pushed back to 16th place.

Kim said Wednesday's national caseload of 1,014 included 993 cases from Korea and 21 from abroad.

He said the metropolitan government will not hesitate to raise the city's social distancing level to 3, the highest in the nation's five-tier system, if the upturn in new daily cases persists. (Yonhap)