The government has begun a comprehensive review of the existing social distancing regulations, which are set to expire by the end of Sunday.

Senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said on Monday that discussions are under way on ways to adjust the rules, including lifting the mask-wearing requirement.

The official said a joint government-civilian committee, which will convene on Wednesday, will consider a comprehensive post-omicron response system, taking into account a possible emergence of new COVID-19 variants.

Meanwhile, authorities assessed that the latest omicron transmission, including critical cases and deaths, is continuing a downturn trend after hitting their respective peaks.

Domestic researchers earlier projected new daily cases to range between 160-thousand and 250-thousand by Wednesday, but the latest tally came well short of the forecast, standing at 90-thousand-928 as of 12 a.m. Monday.