(Yonhap)

South Korea reported 35 more cases of the new coronavirus Saturday, the fourth consecutive day that the number has declined.

The new cases raised South Korea's total cases of COVID-19 to 13,373, and the nation's death toll remained at 288, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The new cases have been on the decline since Wednesday when South Korea reported 63 new virus cases before falling to 50 on Thursday and 45 the following day.

Of the 35 new cases Saturday, local infections stood at 20, while the rest are imported cases.

By region, South Korea's southeastern city of Gwangju accounted for the largest share with nine, raising the total cases in the city to 156.

Among them, 127 cases are linked to a door-to-door business in Gwangju.

In Seoul, six new cases stemmed from previous cluster infections and two imported cases.

The KCDC said two more people tied to a church were infected with the virus, raising to 26 the number of cases traced to the church in Anyang, a city just south of Seoul.

Starting Friday, South Korea started prohibiting churches nationwide from organizing gatherings other than regular worship services in a move to prevent the spread of the virus.

Of the 15 total imported cases, eight people tested positive for the virus in the screening process upon their arrival in South Korea, while the seven others were confirmed during self-quarantine, according to the public health agency.

The accumulated number of imported cases reached 1,806, accounting for 13.5 percent of all COVID-19 infections in South Korea.

Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said in a regular press briefing that there is no chance that imported cases could have any direct impact on infections in South Korea, citing virus tests and a mandatory two-week quarantine for all arrivals from foreign countries.

Starting Monday, all foreign nationals arriving from a number of high-risk countries are obligated to hand in certificates issued within 48 hours proving that they tested negative for the virus.

Kwon said the authorities have collected blood plasma from 171 people who have fully recovered from COVID-19 for clinical trials as part of efforts to develop treatments for the virus.

The KCDC said South Korea's fatality rate of people infected with the virus was 2.15 percent. The rate was 25.09 percent for those aged 80 and above.

It said 4,417 people aged less than 30 have contracted the virus, but none of them died. (Yonhap)