The government is considering lifting all social distancing regulations except for mask-wearing if it confirms a "definite" decline in daily COVID-19 cases over the next two weeks.

Health minister Kwon Deok-cheol said on Friday that the rules under consideration include business curfews, gathering bans and limits on large events. Mandatory mask-wearing indoors, however, will remain. 

In addition to a decline in the number of cases, the ministry must also see stability in the number of critical cases and the medical system.

This comes as the government further eased social distancing rules for two weeks starting Monday, allowing up to ten people to gather and permitting longer operating hours for businesses, including restaurants and coffee shops, which can now stay open until midnight.

Authorities deemed that the explosive transmission of the virus is waning after hitting its peak two weeks ago.

However, they predict that critical cases and deaths could further rise until early to mid-April, while pointing to uncertainty over whether the case decline will continue amid the dominance of the stealth omicron sub-variant.