Daily new COVID-19 cases fell to the 500s on Sunday apparently due to fewer tests over the weekend.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday that 585 new cases were detected throughout the previous day, raising the country's cumulative total to 135-thousand-929.

The daily figure dropped by about 80 from a day earlier, but the virus risks remain high amid increased spring travel and the spread of highly transmittable COVID-19 variants.

Of the new cases, 570 were local infections, while 15 were imported.

Sixty percent of the new local cases came from the greater metro area, with 180 in Seoul, 150 in Gyeonggi Province and 12 in Incheon.

Other parts of the nation added 228 cases, including 57 in the southeastern city of Daegu.

Five more people succumbed to the virus, with the death toll reaching one-thousand-931. The fatality rate stands at one-point-42 percent.

The number of critically ill patients dropped by one to 149.