Daily COVID-19 cases hit an 18-week high at over 180-thousand on Wednesday as the latest wave of COVID-19 in the nation is well underway. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said Wednesday that 180-thousand-803 infections were confirmed throughout the previous day, including 567 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to about 21 million-682-thousand.

The daily tally jumped two-point-one times from a day ago to reach the level unseen since 195-thousand-387 cases on April 13. Compared to a week ago and two weeks earlier, it is one-point-two times and one-point-five times higher, respectively. 

The number of imported cases was also the fifth-highest since the nation reported its first COVID-19 case in January of 2020.

The number of critically ill patients, however, was down by 94 from Tuesday to 469.

The occupancy rate of hospital beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients nationwide also dropped to 43-point-seven percent, down one-point-eight percentage points from a day earlier.

Forty-two deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 25-thousand-752. The fatality rate remains at zero-point-12 percent.