South Korea reported nearly 800 new COVID-19 cases amid growing concerns about highly transmissible variant strains.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said Wednesday that 794 new infections were registered throughout Tuesday, raising the country's accumulated caseload to 156-thousand-961.

The daily figure jumped by nearly 200 from the previous day to surpass 700 for the first time since June 5, posting the largest number of cases since April 23, when it reached 797.

Health authorities are on alert as the nation is set to adopt a new four-tier social distancing system with eased restrictions on Thursday. 

Of the new cases, 759 were local transmissions and 35 came from overseas.

By region, the greater metro area accounted for 83 percent of new domestic cases, including 368 in Seoul and 234 in Gyeonggi Province.

One more death has been reported, bringing the death toll to two-thousand-18. The fatality rate stands at one-point-29 percent.

The number of critically ill patients dropped by three from the previous day to 149.