South Korea will allow coronavirus patients to vote by mail or as an absentee voter in this month's parliamentary elections, campaigning for which, started on Thursday amid a steady rise in new coronavirus infections.

In the elections on April 15, voters will elect 300 members of the National Assembly for the next four years and elections have been grappling the challenges of ensuring people's right to vote while keeping them safe.

Some 4,000 patients are now receiving treatment and will be able to cast their ballots via mail or early absentee voting, Interior Minister Chin Young said.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 89 new cases on Thursday, taking the national tally to 9,976. A total of 5,828 have recovered from the virus, while 4,148 are still receiving treatment.