The nation reported the most COVID-19 cases for a Monday in seven weeks amid signs that another round of the pandemic may be just around the corner. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Monday that 18-thousand-671 infections were reported throughout the previous day, including 60 overseas imports, bringing the total caseload to some 25-million-857-thousand.

The Monday tally is about a half of what it was a day ago due to fewer tests over the weekend, but grew by 167 from a week ago and climbed by 43-hundred from two weeks earlier.

It i,s in fact, the highest Monday tally in seven weeks since 19-thousand-382 cases were logged on September 19. Health authorities warn the daily tally could spike to 200-thousand should the seventh wave of the pandemic begin. 

Meanwhile, the number of seriously or critically ill patients also rose by 19 from the previous day to 365.

Eighteen more people died of the virus, raising the death toll to 29-thousand-390. The fatality rate stands at zero-point-11 percent.