Despite the easing of indoor mask rules, daily COVID-19 cases dropped around 24 percent last week compared to a week earlier.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters said on Wednesday that there were 112-thousand-748 new cases during the first week of February, down 23-point-eight percent from a week prior.

The virus' reproduction number stood at zero-point-nine, marking the fifth consecutive week the figure has come in below one to indicate a slowdown in transmission.

While the number of critical patients also fell 20-point-five percent on-week, however, deaths rose 21 percent.

Health authorities maintained the risk levels applied nationwide, for the capital area and for other regions at "low," reflecting the improved pandemic situation as demonstrated by the data.