South Korea reported 344 new COVID-19 cases on Monday as the nation began to enforce eased social distancing rules after the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said Monday that the new cases raised the country's accumulated caseload to 83-thousand-869.

The daily figure stayed in the 300 range for the third consecutive day with fewer tests administered during the holiday.

Of the new cases detected throughout Sunday, 323 were local transmissions, while 21 were imported.

About 80 percent of the local transmissions came from the greater metro area, with 147 in Seoul, 99 in Gyeonggi Province and nine in Incheon. The other parts of the nation added 68 cases.

The number of critically ill patients remains unchanged at 156 while five more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to one-thousand-527. The fatality rate stands at one-point-82 percent.