South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 13,000 on Thursday, logging a marked on-week decline amid a gradual virus downtrend.

The country reported 12,519 new infection cases, including 24 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,397,720, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

It was a decline from 14,957 cases a day earlier. Compared with the previous week, the latest figure marked about a 15 percent fall.

The KDCA reported 22 deaths from COVID-19, putting the death toll at 33,804.

The number of critically ill patients came to 217, down from 228 a day earlier.

The infection numbers have been on a steady decline despite concerns over an uptick following the removal of the indoor mask mandate late last month.

The numbers of serious cases and deaths also have been decreasing, and the government has said the virus situation is being managed in a stable manner.

But it has been working to expand the oral treatment pill prescription programs and vaccination campaigns to better protect vulnerable groups, as the fatality rate has risen due to a larger proportion of senior citizens and other high-risk groups among the total infections. (Yonhap)