Seoul, Dec 20 (IANS): South Korea on Sunday reported 1,097 new coronavirus cases, the highest-ever single-day spike after staying above 1,000 for five straight days, raising the overall infection tally to 49,665.

The daily number of infections hovered above 100 for 43 days since November 8 due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province, as well as imported cases, reports Xinhua news agency.

For the past week, the daily average number of infections was 986.

The cluster infections were linked to religious facilities, nursing homes and workplaces, as well as gatherings among families and acquaintances.

Of the new cases, 470 were Seoul residents and 244 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Twenty-five were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 5,082.

Fifteen more deaths were confirmed, increasing the death toll at 674. The total fatality rate stood at 1.36 per cent.

A total of 388 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 34,722.

The total recovery rate was 69.91 per cent.

Since January 3, the country has tested more than 3.68 million people, among whom 3,493,954 tested negative for the virus and 139,475 are being checked.