Daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 20-thousand for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Wednesday that 20-thousand-270 infections were reported throughout the previous day, including 159 from overseas. The total caseload came to 884-thousand-310.

The daily tally topped ten-thousand for the first time on January 26 and doubled in just a week amid the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.

The capital region accounts for 57-point-seven percent of new domestic cases, including some six-thousand in Gyeonggi Province and nearly 42-hundred in Seoul.

Despite the spike in infections, the number of critically ill patients edged up six from the previous day to 278.

Fifteen people died of the virus in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to six-thousand-787. The fatality rate stands at zero-point-77 percent.

The ICU bed occupancy rate was around 15-point-eight percent nationwide as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The number of coronavirus patients under treatment at their homes stands at 89-thousand-420.