New COVID-19 cases registered in the ten-thousands on Friday amid a continued slowdown in the latest wave of infections.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Friday that ten-thousand-51 infections were reported throughout Thursday, including 26 from overseas, bringing the country's cumulative caseload to around 30-million-479-thousand.

The tally is down by some 800 from the previous day and lower by about 14-hundred from a week ago.

For a Friday tally, it marks the lowest in 34 weeks since July 1 of last year.

The number of patients in critical care rose by three from a day earlier to 183, staying below 200 for a fifth day.

Thursday added 20 deaths, raising the cumulative death toll to 33-thousand-929, with the overall fatality rate unchanged at zero-point-11 percent.