The daily COVID-19 increase in South Korea stayed above 500 for the second straight day on Thursday, as some 490-thousand people nationwide began taking the annual College Scholastic Ability Test(CSAT).
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said as of 12:00 a.m. Thursday, 540 additional people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the country's cumulative total to 35-thousand-703.
Out of the new cases, 516 were local infections, climbing back to the 500s for the first time since recording 525 last Friday. The daily average of local cases for the past week stood at 466-point-seven, within the threshold for Level Two-point-Five social distancing.
Of the local infections, 419 were in the Seoul metropolitan area, making up 81-point-two percent of all cases.
Authorities are concerned about new cases, mostly those arising from day-to-day interactions, being reported from all 17 major cities and provinces in the country for the past three consecutive days.
The number of patients in critical condition spiked by 16 overnight to total 117, casting concerns over a possible shortage of intensive care facilities.