South Korea reports 1,053 more COVID-19 cases, 48,570 in total

Seoul [South Korea], December 19 (ANI/Xinhua): South Korea reported 1,053 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 48,570.
The daily caseload stayed above 1,000 for four straight days, hovering above 100 for 42 days since Nov. 8 due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.
For the past week, the daily average number of infections was 976.4.
The cluster infections were linked to religious facilities, nursing homes and workplaces, as well as gatherings among families and acquaintances.
Of the new cases, 382 were Seoul residents and 264 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.
Twenty-four were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 5,057.
Fourteen more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 659. The total fatality rate stood at 1.36 percent.
A total of 352 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 34,334. The total recovery rate was 70.69 percent.
Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 3.64 million people, among whom 3,471,444 tested negative for the virus and 126,233 are being checked. (ANI/Xinhua)