Daily COVID-19 cases fell by more than 200-thousand but the number of new infections and deaths still came to the second-highest tally since the outbreak amid the continued spread of the omicron variant.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Friday that 407-thousand-17 infections were reported throughout the previous day, including 39 cases from overseas. The total caseload came to eight-million-657-thousand-609.

The daily tally rose by some 124-thousand from a week ago.

There were 301 deaths from the virus, down 128 from the previous day. The death toll rose to eleven-thousand-782, with the fatality rate standing at zero-point-14 percent.

The number of patients in critical care marked one-thousand-49, down by 110. The fall is believed to be due to a recent increase in the number of deaths.

The number of home-treatment patients stands at over two million as of 12 a.m. Friday.

The occupancy rate of ICU beds for critically ill patients nationwide marked 66-point-five percent, with the operation rate of treatment centers rising to around 30 percent.