The government will operate a total of 6,000 one-stop medical institutions during the Chuseok holiday  and at least 700 one-stop medical institutions on Chuseok Day on Saturday this week, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a Covid-19 response meeting on Wednesday.

"After we announced quarantine and medical response measures in preparation for Chuseok last week, we supplemented the measures after conducting a follow-up in cooperation with the local government," Han said. "In areas with insufficient medical institutions, it is possible to receive a prescription for oral Covid-19 medications at local public health centers and emergency rooms."

Also, a total of 30,000 pharmacies will be open during the holidays, including at least 3,500 on Chuseok day, Han added.

Han stressed that the government has also secured more than 4,000 beds for special treatment for pediatric and dialysis patients and childbirth, and 2,300 beds will be available on Chuseok Day.

Han urged people to minimize private gatherings and wear masks in indoor public places during the holiday.

"In the past, the number of confirmed cases tended to increase after the holidays, when the amount of movement increases," Han said. "We urge you to minimize the size and time of meetings and strictly follow daily quarantine rules such as wearing a mask, washing hands, and periodic ventilation."

On Wednesday, Korea's new virus cases fell to the lowest figure for a Wednesday in seven weeks.

Korea added 85,540 Covid-19 infections, including 343 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 23,791,961, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

The nation also reported 56 more Covid-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 27,249. The fatality rate stood at 0.12 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 521, down 15 from the previous day, the KDCA said.

Despite the slowdown in daily Covid-19 cases, authorities stressed that Korea might see another Covid-19 resurge between December and March of next year.

"The recent viral wave passed without any serious situation," wrote Professor Jung Jae-hun of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University College of Medicine on his Facebook page. "The next viral wave will come around December of this year at the earliest, or around March of next year at the latest."

Considering the decrease in immunity acquired through infection and inoculation as time passes, the following variant might appear, and a moderate-scale epidemic may occur, Jung added.

However, Jung stressed that the chance of the next epidemic being larger than the recent viral wave is low as people have acquired immunity to the virus and the overall vaccination rate is high.

"The severity and fatality rate of infected people will not be higher than they are now thanks to the development of therapeutics," Jung said.

According to the KDCA, about 44.66 million among 52 million Koreans have been fully vaccinated. In addition, about 33.56 million people had received their first booster shots, and 7.27 million had their second booster shots.