South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 20,000 on Tuesday with the daily caseload jumping to a three-month high on eased virus restrictions.

The country reported 21,681 cases, including 35 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,307,591, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Tuesday's tally marked a growth from the previous day's 8,164 infections and was almost 6,000 higher than the same day last week. It is also the highest tally since Jan. 28 when the daily caseload stood at 23,591, the KDCA data showed.

The country added 14 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, raising the death toll to 34,548.

The number of critically ill patients came to 142, up from 137 a day earlier, the KDCA said.

In March, South Korea lifted the mask mandate for public transportation, with it only remaining for medical facilities, pharmacies and facilities vulnerable to infections.

The government is also considering shortening the mandatory virus isolation period to five days from the current seven later this week in line with the World Health Organization's recent announcement that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency. (Yonhap)