A medical staffer receives citizens visiting the public health center of Seoul's Gangnam District for COVID-19 testing, Thursday. Yonhap

The Seoul city government plans to set up more COVID-19 testing centers and expand their operating hours in response to a new wave of virus resurgence, officials said Thursday.

According to the city's virus resurgence response plans, a temporary COVID-19 testing center will be set up in each of the city's 25 administrative districts starting Friday.

The operating hours of the existing testing centers at public health centers and designated hospitals will be extended to run until 6 p.m. on weekdays while new temporary testing centers will run until 9 p.m. They will also take turns to open on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in order to expand COVID-19 testing on weekends, officials said.

The city plans to set up more temporary testing centers if the current virus upsurge worsens further, according to the officials.

South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases stayed above 70,000 for the third straight day Thursday, up sharply from 38,196 cases a week earlier, due to the fast spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. (Yonhap)