Health authorities reported more than seven-thousand new COVID-19 cases for the third straight day on Friday, with the country's accumulated caseload surpassing 500-thousand. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said Thursday that seven-thousand-22 new infections were confirmed throughout Thursday, bringing the country's accumulated total to 503-thousand-606.

With the continued spike in infections since last month, the accumulated caseload topped 500-thousand just three weeks after reaching 400-thousand.  

It took about 14 months to reach 100-thousand cases, but the figure rose to 200-thousand just five months later. Three months after that, the caseload hit 300-thousand and then 400-thousand in only two months.

The number of critically ill patients marked 852, staying above 800 for the third straight day. Fifty-three more people died, raising the overall death toll to four-thousand-130. The fatality rate stands at zero-point-82 percent.

In a bid to contain the spread, the government decided to shorten the minimum interval between the second and third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for adults to three months.