South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained under 70,000 for the third straight day on Sunday amid the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant.

The country reported 65,433 new COVID-19 infections, including 333 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 19,211,613, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The daily tally represents a 14-week high for cases reported on Sundays.

During the week, the new cases reached 76,381 on Wednesday before falling below 70,000 on Friday.

The omicron subvariant BA.5 has spread fast since end-June with the start of the summer holiday season. The daily count hit over 10,000 on June 29 for the first time in about three weeks before jumping to over 20,000 on July 9 and then above 40,000 on July 13.

The KDCA reported 18 new deaths, putting the death toll at 24,873. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.

The number of critically ill patients was 146, up from 140 a day earlier. (Yonhap)