Seoul, Dec 14 (IANS): Fourteen more American soldiers and two civilians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea, the US Forces Korea (USFK) announced on Monday.

In a statement, the USFK said the 16 individuals arrived at the Osan Air Base on US government-chartered flights on November 30, December 7 and December 9, reports Xinhua news agenecy.

The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

The patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at the US Army Garrison Humphreys and the Osan Air Base, both of which are located in Pyeongtaek.

The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 434, according to the Yonhap news agency.

"Despite the recent confirmed cases, USFK remains at a high level of readiness with less than 1 per cent of its active-duty service members currently confirmed positive with Covid-19," the statement added.

South Korea has witnessed an ongoing resurgence of new confirmed cases since the past one month.

On Monday, South Korea reported 718 new cases, raising its total number of infections to 43,484.

Its daily caseload has hovered above 100 for 37 straight days since November 8 due to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The country's death toll has increased to 587.