Seoul, Jan 14 (IANS): South Korea reported 524 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, raising the total number of infections to 70,728.

The daily caseload stayed below 600 for three straight days, but it hovered above 100 since November 8, 2020, owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases, reports Xinhua news agency.

Of the new cases, 131 were Seoul residents and 162 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Twenty-eight were imported, lifting the combined figure to 5,842.

Ten more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,195.

The total fatality rate stood at 1.69 per cent.

A total of 1,136 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 55,772.

The total recovery rate was 78.85 per cent.

The country has tested more than 4.92 million people, among whom 4,684,889 were negative for the virus and 169,742 are being checked.