The South Korean government called for continued vigilance as new COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Senior Health Ministry official Park Hyang said on Tuesday that while new cases nationwide have slightly declined over the past week, the the greater capital region rose to a fresh record in average daily numbers.

Amid a persistent fourth wave of the pandemic that began in July, the average number of local cases per day in early September stood at one-thousand-678.

Park said as of Tuesday, average cases in the capital region stand at four-point-five per every 100-thousand people per day, with Seoul specifically at five-point-six and Gyeonggi Province at four. This exceeds the minimum threshold that requires Level Four social distancing protocols.

The official raised concerns with less than two weeks until the Chuseok holiday, saying there is always a possibility for a resurgence stemming from the capital area.