S Korea reports 441 new Covid cases, highest daily increase since March 7

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea has risen by 441 to 18,706 over the past day, marking the biggest daily increase since March 7, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Thursday.

South Korea has been witnessing a new spike in the number of the coronavirus cases within the last two weeks -- from 56 new cases in mid-August to 397 on Sunday.

Out of 441 new cases, 434 resulted from the internal transmission and seven are imported ones. Seoul has confirmed 154 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, while the nearby province of Gyeonggi reported over 100 cases.

The death toll stands at 313 people, while the number of recovered people has increased by 93 to 14,461.

The South Korean authorities have tightened restriction measures across the country on August 23 over the increasing number of infected people, which is primarily associated with the activities of various religious groups, especially the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, more than 24 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 824,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.