The government has reiterated its position that it will consider easing social distancing rules as it closely monitors the COVID-19 situation in Korea for a couple more weeks.

During Tuesday's briefing, senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said the government will make its decision following a comprehensive review of hospital admissions, deaths and the country's medical operation capacity amid the rising virus caseload. 

The remarks come as questions were raised on the necessity of extended distancing rules, especially as a new omicron-tailored treatment scheme loosened built-in restrictions for people considered "low-risk", including the scrapping of GPS monitoring on those under quarantine. 

The government last Friday had said it would attempt to reintroduce the "living with COVID-19" scheme if the number of severe cases and deaths were to remain at manageable levels despite a surge in daily infections.