The number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea has dropped to below 700 for the first time in about three weeks.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Sunday that 657 new cases were reported throughout Saturday, raising the country's accumulated caseload to 63-thousand-244.

The daily tally is down by more than 150 from the previous day and fell below 700 for the first time in 23 days since December 11, when it marked 689.

The fall, however, is mainly attributed to a drop in the number of people getting tested over the New Year's holiday.

Of the new cases, 641 were local transmissions, while 16 were imported.

By region, Seoul added 195 new infections, while the surrounding Gyeonggi Province recorded 201 and Incheon added 48. In other parts of the nation, Busan recorded 19 new cases, Daegu 22 and Gwangju 26.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients has dropped by six to 355 while 20 new deaths were reported Saturday with the death toll standing at 962.