On Sunday, the number of daily COVID-19 infections in South Korea dipped below 300,000 for the first time in ten days, causing the authorities to assume that the worst may be over for the virus.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country gained a total of 209,169 new COVID-19 illnesses during the course of Sunday. The total number of cases handled in the country was 9,582,815.

Following an all-time high of 621,281 COVID-19 instances on Wednesday, the number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea has been steadily declining for four consecutive days, according to the latest data.

In a COVID-19 reaction meeting on Monday, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol stated that the Korea was "going through the crest of the omicron wave."

It is possible that the number of daily COVID-19 instances will increase throughout the week, as the daily tally tends to fall over weekends as a result of fewer tests being performed on weekends.

The government's newest move to relax social distancing restrictions may also have the unintended consequence of increasing the number of daily COVID-19 infections.

With effect from Monday, the government has lifted the limit for private gatherings from six to eight, while retaining an 11 p.m. curfew on commercial establishments, according to a statement.

Additionally, the potential consequences of using the so-called stealth omicron, which transmits data at a pace that is 30 percent faster than the original omicron model, have not been completely assessed.

Following the dissemination of the stealth omicron variety, both the United States and the United Kingdom, which had previously reached the apex of their omicron waves, have seen a resurgence in the number of daily COVID-19 infections.

According to the country's health officials, COVID-19 patients infected with the stealth omicron strain accounted for 26.3 percent of all infections last week, as reported by the World Health Organization.

Even if the number of COVID-19 infections in the country is decreasing on a daily basis, the rising number of COVID-19-related fatalities and critically sick patients continues to be a concern.

On Sunday, the country's death toll from COVID-19 increased by 329, bringing the total number of deaths to 12,757. The fatality rate was 0.13 percent, according to the data.

The total number of severely sick patients reached 1,030, an increase of 97 over the previous day's total. According to the government, the hospital bed occupancy rate for very sick COVID-19 patients is now at 69 percent.

The number of COVID-19 fatalities and severe cases is expected to surge between March 25 and April 1, according to the government's predictions. According to the authorities, the number of serious cases is estimated to range between 1,650 and 2,150.

According to Jeon, the government would continue to focus on treating major cases and avoiding deaths in order to fight any spikes in COVID-19 deaths and severe cases in the future.

Through increased medical examination of severe cases, the government will be able to acquire more hospital beds for critically sick patients who require admission as soon as possible.

Jeon went on to say that the government will offer Merck's oral antiviral drug Lagevrio to 100,000 patients this week, and that the government will pursue an early purchase of more oral COVID-19 in April.