The head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) has warned that the nation’s daily COVID-19 cases could rise to one-thousand two hundred next week. 

In a regular media briefing on Monday, Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said the reproduction number of the virus last week was one-point-28, predicting daily figures next week to range from one-thousand to 12-hundred. 

She said the number of new cases could rise even further given the possibility of more cluster outbreaks, such as the one linked to a Seoul detention center, where a total of 215 inmates and those who came into contact with them have been diagnosed with the virus since November 27. 

Regarding the effectiveness of the current distancing schemes, including Level Two-point-Five in the greater Seoul area, the KDCA chief said there has been a certain impact in containing the virus, but not to the point of reverting the trend, and called on the public to remain vigilant. 

She said more measures will be put in place if necessary, including heightened distancing rules, but cautioned that the nation’s overall capacity in responding to the current spread of the pandemic should be taken into account in advance.