South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Wednesday tally in 11 weeks, while imported cases remained high.

The country reported 54,343 new COVID-19 infections, including 120 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 29,654,090, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

The tally marked the lowest for any Wednesday since Oct. 26, when the country reported 40,816 new cases.

The country added 76 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,745. The number of critically ill patients came to 540, down from 541 the previous day, the KDCA said.

The government has been beefing up its measures to contain the local spread of the virus by overseas entrants amid the recent surge in infections in China.

Of the 120 new cases of overseas infections reported Wednesday, 75, or 62.5 percent, were from China, the KDCA said.

Last week, Seoul began requiring arrivals from China to present a negative polymerase chain reaction or antigen test for the coronavirus before boarding and undergo a post-entry polymerase chain reaction test in a move to slow the overseas inflow of the virus.

Travelers from Hong Kong and Macao also have to show a negative pre-entry virus test.

On Tuesday, China announced the suspension of new issuances of short-term visas for South Koreans in retaliation against South Korea's strengthened antivirus curbs against arrivals from China.

China plans to "adjust" the measure when South Korea cancels its "discriminatory entry restrictions against China," the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said Tuesday.

In New York, US spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, in a briefing Tuesday, "It is very important that all decisions regarding screening of passengers and so on be taken on scientific grounds and only on scientific grounds," citing the World Health Organization's guidelines. (Yonhap)