SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 700 more cases of the coronavirus as the speed of viral spread approaches levels seen during the worst of the country’s outbreak in winter.

The numbers released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday brought the national caseload to 107,598, including 1,758 deaths.

The daily jump was the highest since Jan. 5 when 714 cases were reported.

Around 500 of the new cases are in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has emerged as the center of the country’s epidemic.

Health authorities, who are also wrestling with a slow vaccine rollout, are expected to announce measures to strengthen social distancing following a meeting Friday.