Health Minister Park Neung-hoo says the capital region is already at a state of war against COVID-19, calling the size of the current spike in infections "unprecedented".

The minister noted in a government meeting on COVID-19 responses on Monday that the daily number of infections remained above 600 for two straight days despite a drop in the number of people who get tested over the weekend.  

Park said the daily cases in the greater Seoul area came to 470 on Sunday, the largest figure since the outbreak in the country.

Presenting a grim assessment that the capital region is effectively at war, Park warned that the daily figure may surpass one thousand in a couple of weeks if the current pace continues unabated. 

Amid the surge in infections, the government decided to raise social distancing rules by one notch to Level Two-point-Five in the capital region and to Level Two in other parts of the nation starting Tuesday. It will run for three weeks.