SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 332 more cases of the COVID-19 as of 0:00 a.m. Saturday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 17,002.

The daily caseload soared in triple digits for nine straight days, topping 300 for two days in a row. It was the highest in more than five months since March 8.

The number of confirmed cases for the past nine days reached 2,232 due to infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province traceable to church services of Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul and the massive rally held in central Seoul on Aug. 15 by conservative voters and politicians.

Of the new cases, 127 were Seoul residents and 91 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Seventeen were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,716.

No more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 309. The total fatality rate stood at 1.82 percent.

A total of 49 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 14,169. The total recovery rate was 83.33 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 1.77 million people, among whom 1,716,371 tested negative for the virus and 42,427 are being checked.