South Korea on Thursday reported 128 COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began, while the daily caseload hovered near the 200,000 mark.

According to health authorities, the number of daily cases reported during the 24 hours of Wednesday came to 198,803. The total caseload thus came to 3,691,488, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The figure was down from that of the previous day, when it reached the highest figure of 219,241.

The country’s health authorities explained that the decrease was largely due to fewer people being tested.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients went up to 766 from 762 a day earlier. With the latest deaths, the accumulated death toll reached 8,394 and the fatality rate stood at 0.23 percent, the KDCA said.

Although the numbers of virus-related deaths and critically ill patients continue to increase, the South Korean government hinted that it could ease social distancing rules.

Son Young-rae, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said Wednesday that the government sees that “efficiency of toughening the social distancing rules is quite low at the moment.”

The government will announce its decision during a meeting of the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Friday.

In the meantime, the government will focus on testing and treating high-risk populations to offset limited medical capacity.

To counter the increasing number of infections among children, the government said it has added 26 new hospitals that will specifically deal with children infected with COVID-19.

Through this measure, the country is expected to better respond to potential rises in infections of children, as the new school year kicked off Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, also the head of the CDSCH, tested positive for COVID-19 in a polymerase chain reaction test.

Kim will be under at-home treatment until Wednesday. Kim’s office said he will work from home during the seven-day quarantine. He has postponed all of his scheduled offline events and in-person meetings, according to Kim’s office.

Kim reportedly felt symptoms of COVID-19 after a visit to Daegu on Monday.