Daily COVID-19 cases climbed back to nearly 100-thousand on Tuesday, with the steady rise in critical cases and deaths.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Tuesday that 99-thousand-573 cases were compiled throughout the previous day, including 129 cases from overseas. The total caseload came to two million-157-thousand-734.

The daily figure rose by some 42-hundred from a day ago and remained above 90-thousand for the second day.

The figure increased one-point-seven times from a week ago and two-point-seven times from two weeks ago.

While the number of critical patients remained unchanged at 480 the figure is steadily rising to approach 500 with the soaring infections. Some institutes expect the figure to exceed one-thousand early next month.

The ICU occupancy rate for critical COVID-19 patients also rose slightly to 36-point-three percent nationwide as of 5 p.m. Monday.

Fifty-eight deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to seven-thousand-508. The fatality rate stands at zero-point-35 percent.

The number of home-treatment patients rose by about 20-thousand to over 490-thousand.