Daily new COVID-19 cases in South Korea rose to over 800 on Friday to hit a six-month high.  

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) on Friday announced 826 infections compiled throughout the previous day, bringing the country's accumulated caseload to 158-thousand-549. 

The daily figure hit the 800 range for the first time since January 7, when it marked 869.

Of the new cases, 765 were local transmissions and 61 came from overseas.

By region, the greater metro area accounted for 80 percent of new domestic cases, including 337 in Seoul and 260 in Gyeonggi Province. The other regions reported 146 cases. 

The number of imported cases marked the second-largest since the nation reported its first case on January 20 last year, and the largest since July 25 of last year.  

Three more deaths have been reported, raising the death toll to two-thousand-24. The fatality rate stands at one-point-28 percent. 

The number of critically ill patients rose by one from the previous day to 145.