Daily COVID-19 cases remained above 100-thousand for a third day and the number of critically ill patients exceeded 300 for the first time in two and a half months amid the continued rise in infections.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that 107-thousand-894 infections were reported throughout the previous day, including 435 from overseas.

The tally decreased by some 12-thousand from a day ago but remained above 100-thousand for the third consecutive day. The figure increased one-point-two times from a week ago and one-point-five times from two weeks ago, indicating a slowdown in the on-week doubling.

The country's cumulative caseload came to about 20 million-160-thousand.

The number of imported cases dropped by 165 from a day ago, but remained above 400 for the fourth straight day.

The number of critically ill patients rose by 26 from the previous day to 310, surpassing 300 for the first time in 78 days. The figure increased one-point-58 times from a week ago and nearly tripled from two weeks ago.

The occupancy rate of hospital beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients nationwide rose to 32-point-seven percent, up two-point-seven percentage points from a day ago.

Wednesday added 34 deaths, raising the death toll to 25-thousand-144. The fatality rate fell to zero-point-12 percent after standing at zero-point-13 percent 2016+for nearly four months.