The nation may see as many as 300-thousand new daily cases of COVID-19 in four weeks if the continuing spread expands to drive up the reproduction rate by 30 percent.

According to the National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the number of new daily infections will rise to over 81-thousand in two weeks and to more than 288-thousand-500 in four weeks if the reproduction rate increases by 30 percent from the current level.

If the rate remains at the current level, the country is projected to see over 48-thousand daily new cases in two weeks, and over 105-thousand cases per day in four weeks.

The reproduction rate represents new infections estimated to stem from a single case.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency had earlier estimated new daily infections to surpass 200-thousand in another wave of COVID-19 this summer. It predicts the caseload will peak in mid-September, reaching over 206-thousand-600 if the transmission rate tops 40 percent, which is 10 percent higher than the current level.