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December 20, 2024

South Korea reports its highest daily rise in coronavirus cases since the start of pandemic 

Containers to be used as a ward to treat people infected with the coronavirus are set up on the grounds of the Seoul Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, December 10.
Containers to be used as a ward to treat people infected with the coronavirus are set up on the grounds of the Seoul Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, December 10. Ahn Young-joon/AP

South Korea reported 950 new coronavirus cases on Saturday — the most infections in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a press release.

Of those, 928 confirmed cases are local infections, while 22 are imported. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Area accounts for the majority of the total with a record 669 new cases, the KDCA said.

Meanwhile, three more cases have been linked to the church cluster in Daegu city, according to the local government’s press release on Saturday.

There have now been 32 cases linked to the church cluster, where contact tracers said members of the choir didn’t wear masks and parishioners shared snacks.

Earlier this year, the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji religious group became one of the country’s biggest single clusters, linked to more than 5,200 cases.

The country has recorded 41,736 cases in total so far.

South Korea’s related death toll also increased by six on Saturday, bringing total fatalities to 578.