Seoul's Coronavirus Positivity Rate Soars to Record High

Saudi Press Agency

Sunday 1442/1/4 - 2020/08/23

Seoul, Aug 22, 2020, SPA -- Seoul's coronavirus positivity rate soared more than sevenfold this month due to the outbreak of cluster infections throughout the capital area, Yonhap cited the municipal government as saying today, on Saturday.

It said Seoul's coronavirus positivity rate, which refers to the percentage of people who test positive for COVID-19 out of those who have been tested overall, surged to an all-time high of 4.27 percent in the third week of August.

The latest statistics indicate one out of every 25 people taking the coronavirus test in Seoul yielded a positive result, it explained. The city's previous record positivity rate was set in the first week of February, when the figure stood at 2.04 percent.

The capital's coronavirus positivity rate jumped from 0.56 percent in the first week of August to 2.39 percent in the second week, it said, noting the latest result was about seven times higher than the city's positivity rate for the entire period.

The coronavirus transmission rate, the number of new patients infected by a single virus carrier, has also marked a steep rise in Seoul.

--SPA
00:26 LOCAL TIME 21:26 GMT
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