S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 10,000 for 4th day

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases continued the downward trend Friday, with daily infections falling by nearly 1,400 cases compared with a week earlier.

The country reported 10,051 new infection cases, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,479,753 the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The daily caseload stayed above 10,000 for the fourth straight day Friday. Friday's tally fell from 11,436 cases a week ago and 13,499 cases two weeks earlier.

The pace of the spread of the virus has slowed in spite of the removal of the indoor mask mandate late last month.

The KDCA reported 20 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 33,929. The number of critically ill patients came to 183, up from 180 a day ago.

Amid the downward trend, South Korea is set to lift the post-arrival PCR test requirement for travelers from China on March 1. But the pre-arrival test is still mandatory until March 10 to monitor the effect of the eased restrictions.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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