Daily COVID-19 cases remained in the 80-thousands for a second day amid signs of a slowdown in the latest pandemic wave.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Friday that 89-thousand-586 infections were confirmed throughout the previous day, including 317 from overseas, bringing the country's cumulative caseload to about 23 million-417-thousand.

The daily tally dropped by some eleven-thousand from a week ago. It was the lowest figure for a Friday in five weeks since July 29.

The number of critically ill hospitalized patients fell by 47 from the previous day to 508, remaining above 500 for the tenth consecutive day.

Sixty-four deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 26-thousand-940 with the fatality rate remaining at zero-point-12 percent.

The occupancy rate of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients nationwide stands at 37-point-eight percent.