The government expects daily COVID-19 cases to further surge in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area from the middle of the week as health officials expand preemptive testing amid a recent resurgence in the viral outbreak.

Son Young-rae, a senior Health Ministry official, in a Tuesday briefing said that the central government is set to announce on Wednesday possible changes to social distancing protocols following consultations with local municipal officials.

As of 12:00 a.m. Tuesday, there were 746 new cases, 690 of which were local transmissions. Those from the greater Seoul area reached 557, making up some 80.7 percent of local infections.

South Korea postponed instituting a newly eased social distancing system for Seoul and surrounding regions, including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, which was initially scheduled to take effect from last Thursday, on concerns regarding the recent uptick.

Son added that no decision has been made on raising distancing guidelines in the capital region to Level Three, despite reports of such looming changes from various media outlets.