South Korea has confirmed an all-time high of more than 10,000 new daily coronavirus infections amid a surge in cases of the Omicron variant.

The country's public health authorities say Tuesday's daily tally hit 13,012, up more than 4,000 from the previous day.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at a government task force meeting on Wednesday that anti-coronavirus measures from here on will place priority on reducing the number of seriously ill patients and deaths.

He added that local medical institutions will start treating infected patients from February 3 in addition to the current care being offered at large government-designated hospitals.

Kim also urged the public to forego visits to hometowns during the five-day Lunar New Year holiday that starts on Saturday.

President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to convene a ministerial meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss measures to curb the rapid spread of Omicron infections.