SEOUL — South Korea’s daily coronavirus tally has stayed above 200 for a third consecutive day, as authorities consider raising the country’s social distancing rules.

The 223 additional cases recorded Monday by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency took the country’s total to 28,769 with 494 deaths. The agency says 193 of them are locally transmitted cases while the rest was associated with international arrivals.

South Korea has seen a steady increase in various cluster infections as it eased its social distancing guidelines last month amid then a viral slowdown.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo calls the latest uptick in new infections “grave” and says authorities are “at the crossroads of adjusting the physical distancing rules.”