South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit below 70,000 on Friday, continuing an upward curve, as the country is set to remove the indoor mask mandate, the last remaining antivirus rule, as part of broader recovery efforts.

The country reported 68,168 new COVID-19 infections, including 95 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 28,534,558, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Friday's count is up by about 1,200 from a week ago. The daily infection numbers have been on a steady rebound for the past several weeks amid a winter wave.

Despite the virus spread, the government announced plans to scrap the indoor mask mandate in phases and a set of criteria that need to be met to implement the mask-free policy.

A stable number of new infections, a downtrend in critically ill cases and deaths, medical response capabilities and vaccination rate among the high-risk groups will be among the criteria, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said at a government response meeting.

Exceptions will apply, however, to crowded establishments like hospitals, community centers and nursing homes.

The indoor mask mandate was the last remaining COVID-19 restriction in South Korea. The country lifted the tough social distancing, such as business hour curfews and private gathering limits, in April this year in steps toward a return to normalcy.

There had been constant calls for removal of the mask mandate but authorities remained cautious over lifting the restriction too soon, citing the persistent virus wave and risks of a simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and the seasonal flu.

On Friday, the death toll rose by 63 to 31,674. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent.

The number of critically ill patients was 530, down 17 from the previous day. (Yonhap)