Health authorities will hold discussions with experts on whether to reinstate social distancing amid the latest uptick in COVID-19 cases and announce their decision next Wednesday.

Second vice health minister Lee Gi-il on Friday called for vigilance, saying recent signs point to the start of a resurgence.

The average new daily cases during the past week rose to 15-thousand-277, up 86-point-five percent from a week earlier.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said it is analyzing a forecast model for a resurgence with experts and will decide on the next quarantine measures based on predictions of serious cases and deaths.

Asked whether a resurgence, earlier projected to happen in the fall, has started early, authorities said a smaller-sized transmission is believed to have accelerated due to the ability of the new variants to circumvent immunity combined with increased travel during the summer.

Health officials, along with the agriculture ministry, plan to conduct quarantine inspections at agricultural product manufacturing and distribution facilities as well as multipurpose venues through September.