Korean health officials advised people to get COVID-19 vaccinations for the winter amid mounting concern over rising case numbers.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s weekly report on COVID-19 on Saturday, eight-thousand-635 new cases of the virus were reported during the fourth week of October, an on-week hike of 17 percent.

Reported cases had fallen for ten straight weeks from the second week in August but started rising last week.

Health officials downgraded COVID-19 from a Class Two infectious disease to Class Four in August. Since then, they have been monitoring new cases only at 527 designated healthcare facilities. 

Though officials believe the uptick in cases may be temporary, they are closely monitoring the situation.