People wait for COVID-19 tests at a local testing station in Songpa-gu, Seoul on August 5. (Yonhap)

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 30,000 for a fourth straight day Saturday with the daily death toll down to its 14-week low for a Saturday.

The country reported 26,906 new COVID-19 infections, including 48 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,271,078, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

The daily figure has stayed below the 30,000 mark this month except for three days, KDCA data showed.

The latest virus wave, triggered by the spread of a highly contagious omicron variant, has been on a downturn since mid-August, when it peaked at above 180,000 cases.

New deaths from COVID-19 stood at 22 on Saturday, down by eight from Friday, raising the death toll to 28,974.

The daily toll dropped to the lowest Saturday tally since July 16, when the figure stood at 16.

The number of critically ill patients came to 196, down 37 from a day earlier.

Amid signs of a downturn in the virus, South Korea lifted all outdoor mask mandates in September. Inbound travelers are no longer required to submit polymerase chain reaction test results.

Starting next month, the government will fully resume its visa-waiver program for 91 nations as a reciprocal measure. The program has been wavered since early 2020 to contain the spreading of the COVID-19. (Yonhap)