Daily COVID-19 cases stayed above 17-thousand for the third straight day.

According to health authorities, as of 12:00 a.m. Monday, 17-thousand-85 additional people tested positive in the past 24-hour period, raising the cumulative total to 845-thousand-709.

Out of the new cases, 16-thousand-850 were local infections, 61-point-eight percent of which were in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Between January 23 and 29, seven-thousand-19 cases were of the omicron variant, with the cumulative total rising to 16-thousand-879.

Twenty-three more people succumbed to the virus to bring the total death toll to six-thousand-755. As of 12:00 a.m., there were 277 critical cases, with around 16 percent of intensive care beds nationwide in operation as of 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

A record 75-thousand-709 patients are receiving at-home treatment, which is 89 percent of full management capacity.

Meanwhile, over 27-point-23 million people, or 53-point-one percent of the population have received booster shots.