Seoul, Sept 29 (Xinhua) South Korea reported 38 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 23,699, media reported on Tuesday. The daily caseload fell below 50 in 49 days since Aug. 11, hovering below 100 for four straight days.

Small cluster infections continued in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province. Of the new cases, 11 were Seoul residents and 6 were people residing in Gyeonggi province. Fifteen were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 3,208. One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 407. The total fatality rate stood at 1.72 percent. A total of 178 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 21,470. The total recovery rate was 90.59 percent. Since January 3, the country has tested more than 2.31 million people, among whom 2,269,289 tested negative for the virus and 20,056 are being checked.