Daily COVID-19 cases jumped above six-thousand for the first time in about a month amid the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said on Thursday that six-thousand-603 cases were compiled throughout the previous day, raising the total caseload to 712-thousand-503.

The daily tally rose above six-thousand for the first time in 27 days since December 24, when it marked six-thousand-233. From a week ago, the figure soared by nearly 25-hundred. 

The number of critical COVID-19 cases continued to fall. The figure dropped by 44 to 488, falling to the 400s for the first time in 62 days. 

Wednesday saw 28 deaths, raising the overall death toll to six-thousand-480. The fatality rate remains unchanged at zero-point-91 percent.   

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the ICU occupancy rate nationwide stood at 23-point-four percent, down two-point-one percentage points from a day ago. 

Of the new cases, six-thousand-357 cases were local transmissions, while 246 were from overseas.