Health authorities reported nearly four-thousand new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with the number of severe patients surpassing 600 and hitting a new high. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) reported Thursday that three-thousand-938 cases were compiled throughout the previous day, raising the country's accumulative caseload to 429-thousand-two. 

The daily tally dropped by 177 from the day prior, when it hit an all-time high of four-thousand-115 amid a continued surge in infections. Critical cases surpassed 600 for the first time, hitting a fresh record of 612 and setting a new high for the third consecutive day.

The death toll rose to three-thousand-401 with 39 additional deaths, while the fatality rate remained zero-point-79 percent. 

Of the new cases, three-thousand-917 were local transmissions and 21 were from overseas. The capital region accounted for nearly 80 percent of local infections, reporting three-thousand-112 cases. Non-capital areas added 805 infections.