Korea church cluster swells daily virus tally to 324

South Korea's virus fight is reaching a critical phase as its daily new patients surpassed 300 for the first time since early March today, largely due to church-linked cluster infections in the wider capital area and other regions.

Health authorities may consider further upping anti-virus measures to the highest level in order to regain its grip on the pandemic amid mounting concerns about nationwide outbreaks, Yonhap reports.

The country added 324 more patients, including 315 local infections, raising the total caseload to 16,670, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Today's tally marked the most since March 8 when the daily virus cases reached 367.

The number of daily infections has been in the triple digits since last Friday when 103 additional cases were reported, with about 1,900 cases being newly identified in the past eight days.

A resurgence in new coronavirus cases, mostly traced to churches, have been reported in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province, home to half of the country's 51 million people.

Health authorities warned that the wider capital region should brace for another wave of the pandemic and that the country stands on the cusp of a nationwide outbreak.