SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 195 more cases of the COVID-19 as of 12:00 a.m. local time Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 20,644.

The daily caseload fell below 200 in 17 days, but it continued to grow in triple digits since Aug. 14 owing to cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province linked to church services and a massive rally held in central Seoul on Aug. 15.

Of the new cases, 69 were Seoul residents and 64 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Seven were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,858.

Three more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 329. The total fatality rate stood at 1.59 percent.

A total of 173 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 15,529. The total recovery rate was 75.22 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 2 million people, among whom 1,924,384 tested negative for the virus and 55,524 are being checked.