The South Korean government is conducting a comprehensive review on raising social distancing to Level Three, which is the highest level, as daily COVID-19 cases hit a record one-thousand-78 on Wednesday.

Yoon Tae-ho, senior official at the Health Ministry, said the average daily increase for the past week stands at 833, within the threshold for Level Three.

Stressing that it should be the last resort, Yoon said the medical and quarantine capacity, virus' reproduction rate, percentage of critically ill, elderly infection numbers and public consensus will all be taken into account.

Health Ministry spokesperson Son Young-rae also emphasized that the effectiveness of enhanced distancing relies on active public participation as the socioeconomic impact would be enormous.

Authorities, meanwhile, are in the process of adjusting details of the nation's distancing manual through consultations with related ministries, municipal governments and infectious disease experts.