The government will consider resuming a transition to living with COVID-19 and treating the virus as it would any seasonal flu, once critical cases and the fatality rate decline to manageable levels.

Senior health ministry official Lee Gi-il said on Friday that the government will lift quarantine regulations in phases under more stable circumstances, even if new cases continue to rise.

The official said the transition will gradually begin in stages after a comprehensive assessment of health care capacity, fatalities and critical cases.

Despite its rapid transmission, omicron-related critical cases and fatalities are about one-fifth to one-third of those involving the delta variant. Lee said the government won't tighten quarantine unless the resurgence leads to an excess of critical patients or deaths.

The government, meanwhile, extended current social distancing rules, such as a gathering ban on more than six people, by another two weeks to monitor the situation following the Lunar New Year holiday.