Daily new COVID-19 cases hit an all-time high of two-thousand-434 on Friday, showing a surge after the Chuseok holiday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said Friday that the new infections detected throughout Thursday raised the country's accumulated caseload to 295-thousand-132.
The daily tally hit a new high, replacing the previous record of two-thousand-221 set on August 11. Epidemiologists are warning that the figure could rise to over three-thousand.
Of the new cases, two-thousand-416 were local transmissions, while 18 were from overseas.
The greater metro area accounted for 72-point-three percent of local cases, reporting one-thousand-747, another new record. Non-capital areas added 669 cases, taking up 27-point-seven percent of local cases.
Seven more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to two-thousand-434. The fatality rate stands at point-82 percent.
The number of critically ill patients fell by three from the previous day to 309.