The average number of daily new COVID-19 cases in South Korea remained in the 600s for the second consecutive week, with the reproduction rate surpassing one again.

Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said on Sunday in a government meeting that new infections marked an average of 612 a day for the past week. 

The minister added that the nationwide reproduction rate came to one-point-04, surpassing one again for the first time since the third week of April. The rate refers to the number of infections caused by a single patient and a figure over one means the virus is spreading.

He expressed concerns about continued outbreaks in all parts of daily life, noting that new infections in regions outside the capital area took up about 40 percent of domestic cases. 

The minister said that the nation will remain under the current social distancing rules for three more weeks from Monday, while asking regional governments to implement the distancing guidelines flexibly if necessary.