Health authorities have placed the COVID-19 risk level for the second week of January at "medium" for the capital region, non-capital areas and also for the country at-large.

The capital region and the nation as a whole were assessed at "medium" a week earlier as well, but the level has gone up for non-capital areas from a "low" evaluation the previous week. 

Officials said, though pandemic indicators are improving, the caseload has slightly risen and is feared to increase further due to the omicron variant. 

The number of critical cases and deaths, meanwhile, have declined for the third week.

As a result, the ICU bed occupancy rate has also fallen nationwide, including from over 58 percent to 43 percent in Seoul and surrounding areas week-over-week.

In the weekly assessment, authorities noted that the country's medical response capability remains stable as hospitalizations are down thanks to the booster progress. They added preparations are needed for a long-term epidemic.