Authorities in South Korea said they may enhance social distancing to Level One-point-Five in the Seoul metropolitan area, should infection clusters continue to expand in the region.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesperson Son Young-rae said there may be a need to raise the distancing level two to three weeks from now, if the daily increase continues to surge as it has. The greater Seoul area has reported a daily average of 70 or so new COVID-19 cases over the last several days, he said. 

Although the average daily increase across the country falls short of the standard to raise the level, Son pointed out that the basic reproduction number, which is the average number of people one patient could infect, has fluctuated around one the past month.

The spokesperson added that the nation will be able to stabilize the situation either by accelerating tracing or reducing the basic reproduction number through heightened quarantine.