The government is set to hold a meeting on Sunday to decide whether to upgrade the social distancing level to the highest Level Three. 

Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health Ministry official, said Friday that such discussions will take place as the current Level Two-point-Five distancing in the capital area and Level Two elsewhere will expire on Monday. 

Health Ministry spokesperson Son Young-rae said two criteria will be considered when discussing whether to upgrade the distancing level, including the quarantine authorities’ capacity to respond to infections and the health care sector’s capacity to handle cases.  

He added that the effects of the tougher set of measures for the holiday season will also play a pivotal role in the government decision.  

On the nation seeing its daily cases surpass 12-hundred on Friday, Yoon said the surge is likely to have resulted from the cluster of infections at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center.