The number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea reached a new high on Thursday, surpassing 90,000 for the second day in a row, as there are few indicators that the spread of the highly infectious omicron strain will abate any time soon.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country recorded 93,135 new COVID-19 infections, including 93,045 local cases, bringing the total number of cases to 1,645,978, an increase from the previous year (KDCA).

Daily instances increased dramatically on Wednesday, surpassing the 90.000 mark for the first time in history. The total number of cases increased from the previous day's total of 57,164 to 90,443, with the omicron variety responsible for the vast majority of the infections.

The daily total has nearly quadrupled in a week, and it has increased by more than fourfold when compared to the previous two weeks.

The death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 7,238, an increase of 36 over the previous day. According to the KDCA, the death rate was 0.44 percent.

The total number of severely sick COVID-19 patients reached 389, an increase of 76 from the previous day. After reaching more than 300 instances for the fourth consecutive day, officials have warned that a spike in serious cases might occur in the next couple of weeks, if the current trend persists.

Intensive care unit beds for critically sick patients were occupied at a rate of 28.5 percent across the country. Although it has been constant, there is still fear about a probable shortage due to the rapid increase in the number of diseases.

According to health officials, the number of daily illnesses might reach 170,000 by the end of this month, however it is too soon to tell if this would be the pinnacle of the omicron surge. According to a state-run research organization, the amount might reach as high as 360,000 by the beginning of next month.

Although there has been an unprecedented surge of illnesses, the government is considering the possibility of relaxing current rigorous social distancing requirements, primarily for the purpose of reducing their impact on small enterprises.

The present limit on private meetings of six people and a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafés across the country are being reviewed, but the vaccine pass system, which requires confirmation of vaccination or a negative test result to use some types of public facilities, is being maintained.

The government will reveal its decision on whether or not to change the antivirus restrictions on Friday.

According to the latest available data, 29.9 million people, or 58.3 percent of the country's 52 million citizens, have gotten booster doses. According to the KDCA, the total number of completely vaccinated persons was 44.26 million, accounting for 86.2 percent of the population.

Seoul recorded 19,678 new instances of locally transmitted disease on Thursday, with the neighboring Gyeonggi Province and the western city of Incheon reporting 28,438 and 7,235 new cases, respectively. The greater Seoul area was responsible for 59.5 percent of the country's overall infections when taken as whole.

Additionally, the number of patients receiving at-home therapy increased to a new high of 314,565 on Thursday, surpassing 300,000 for the first time in the country.

The KDCA previously stated that approximately 10% of COVID-19 patients have received treatment in hospitals or community treatment centers, with the remainder receiving care at home, a move intended to more effectively deal with the drastic increase in infections and to better concentrate on serious cases of the disease.