SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 397 more cases of the COVID-19 as of 0:00 a.m. Sunday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 17,399.

The daily caseload soared in triple digits for 10 straight days, topping 300 for three days in a row. It was the highest in more than five months since March 7.

The number of confirmed cases for the past 10 days reached 2,629 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, 138 were Seoul residents and 124 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Ten were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,726.

No more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 309. The total fatality rate stood at 1.78 percent.

A total of 31 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 14,200. The total recovery rate was 81.61 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 1.79 million people, among whom 1,726,223 tested negative for the virus and 47,564 are being checked.