The COVID-19 risk level for non-capital areas has been downgraded to "medium" for the first time in six weeks.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on Tuesday, the risk levels for the whole country, the capital region and non-capital areas have been evaluated at “medium” for the first week of September.

Authorities noted improvement in many indicators such as the caseload and medical response capacity, with the number of cases in the first full week of the month totaling close to 480-thousand, a 19-point-nine percent decrease from the previous week.

The virus reproduction rate, referring to the number of infections caused by a single patient, recorded zero-point-87 last week. While that figure was slightly higher than zero-point-82 the week prior, the rate has been below one for three weeks in a row, indicating the virus is not further spreading.

Also last week, the number of critical patients rose three-point-six percent to 483 while fatalities dropped more than 19 percent to 415.

Meanwhile, the suspected reinfection rate continues to climb, accounting for nine-point-seven percent of all new infections in the fifth week of August, equivalent to about one in ten cases.