By Trend

South Korea reported six more cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,780, Trend reports citing Yonhap.

It marked the fourth day in a row for the new daily infections to stay in the single digits, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The figure peaked on Feb. 29 at 909.

Health authorities, however, are still calling for people to comply with social distancing guidelines during the holiday that runs through Tuesday.

Mass infections account for more than 80 percent of COVID-19 cases here.

The nation's death toll from the virus rose by two to 250.

In total, 9,123 people in South Korea have recovered from the virus, up 51 from a day earlier.

With clear signs of a slowdown in the number of people infected locally, South Korea is vigilant of imported cases. All newly added cases announced Saturday were imported, raising the country's total number of such cases to 1,081.

Daegu, the nation's worst virus-hit region located 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, added no new cases. The city accounts for 64 percent of the nation's total COVID-19 cases.

South Korea plans to loosen the country's social distancing mandate after the holidays if the numbers remain flat until Tuesday.

The country plans to announce on Sunday whether it will move on to what it calls "everyday life quarantine," meaning schools and workplaces can go back to normal routine with some precautionary measures attached.

Health authorities, however, say that even if the country decides to ease its social-distancing drive, it does not necessarily mean that South Korea has vanquished the COVID-19 pandemic.

A second wave of infections may hit the country hard again later this year, they added.

The country also plans to beef up efforts to protect vulnerable people from the virus, with measures including delaying crackdowns against undocumented foreign migrant workers.