Quarantine authorities have stressed that the COVID-19 situation in the nation has come to a point where the government must consider raising the social distancing level. 

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol made the assessment on Wednesday during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as he cited that the number of daily COVID-19 cases topped 700 on Tuesday. 

Kwon said the nation is at a crossroads for a possible fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

The minister said raising the social distancing level is all the more a difficult last resort as the nation has suffered pain for more than a year and grown exhausted due to the pandemic. 

He then stressed that the remaining option is to thoroughly implement tightened quarantine measures.