For the first time since the nation reported its first COVID-19 case early last year, more than four percent answered they tested positive in a weekly questionnaire after voluntarily receiving tests following close contact or due to overlapping travel routes with patients who tested positive. 

Park Hyang, a senior official of the state vaccination task force, said in a regular media briefing on Tuesday the weekly figure exceeded four percent for the first time as of 12 a.m. Sunday. 

According to the agency, 275-thousand-658 people got tested after reporting during the week-long period that they suspected they contracted the disease. Among them, 11-thousand-174 people, or four-point-05 percent, were diagnosed with the virus. 

The official said the rate points to a growing risk of infection through personal contact, urging the public to minimize unnecessary contact with others and abide by distancing and quarantine rules.