New daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea are back in the 600s after two days in the 500 range.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Wednesday that 676 new cases were reported throughout Tuesday, raising the country's accumulated caseload to 124-thousand-945.

Of the new cases, 651 were local transmissions and 25 from overseas. Of the domestic cases, the majority came from the greater metro area, including 234 in Seoul and 162 in Gyeonggi Province.

The number of critically ill patients rose by eleven to 173. Seven more deaths were reported, bringing the overall death toll to one-thousand-847.

In a virus response meeting Wednesday, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said the fear of a fourth wave has not subsided, especially in the capital region and Gyeongsang Province.

He said that in the city of Ulsan, variants are believed to be having a serious impact on the spread. In the case of Gangwon Province where clusters were reported involving foreign workers, epidemiological surveys are underway at locations where many expats live.

Also marking Children's Day, the health minister said that COVID-19 has changed many aspects of daily life, not only for adults but for children as well, and asked for a little more patience in reaching the end of the pandemic tunnel.