South Korea is at the onset of a fourth pandemic wave, the government has concluded, as the country exceeds one-thousand-200 in new daily cases for the first time in about six months. 

Making the assessment during a Wednesday briefing, senior Health Ministry official Lee Gi-il said officials anticipate current levels to extend through the beginning of August. Lee added the government reached the projections based on the trends of rising variant cases around the world and the uptick in cases in the Seoul metropolitan area. 

The government previously had said South Korea may be entering the early phases of the fourth wave back in early April, when daily cases fluctuated between the 300s and 700s.

The official warned that the current situation in the capital region is very serious, citing that new cases are nearly doubling each day.

Lee said the capital region would reach the threshold for the highest Level Four under the new distancing system if the daily average reaches 389 in Seoul and one-thousand in the metro area.

Warning that Seoul and surrounding areas are soon expected to hit the threshold, Lee said the government will consult with local governments to review raising the distancing level.