South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained above 10,000 for the third consecutive day Thursday as the country is on track to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

The country reported 14,284 cases, including 43 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,129,070, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Thursday's tally is lower than the 16,383 a day earlier but slightly higher than the 14,088 a week ago. Daily infections fell to 5,027 on Monday after staying above 10,000 for the previous six days through Sunday.

The country added 11 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, raising the death toll to 34,460. The number of critically ill patients came to 151, down from 153 the previous day, the KDCA said.

South Korea eased most of its virus curbs in March, including the mask mandate on public transportation.

In May, the government plans to reduce the mandatory COVID-19 isolation period to five days from the current seven as the next step in the return to pre-pandemic normalcy. (Yonhap)