SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 631 more cases of the COVID-19 as of midnight Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 37,546.

The daily caseload was the highest in over nine months since March 2 when the reading recorded 686. The highest-ever figure was 909 tallied on Feb. 29.

The daily number of confirmed cases rose in triple figures for 29 straight days since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

Of the new cases, 253 were Seoul residents and 176 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Thirty-two were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 4,708.

Five more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 545. The total fatality rate stood at 1.45 percent.

A total of 211 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 29,128. The total recovery rate was 77.58 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 3.19 million people, among whom 3,089,605 tested negative for the virus and 67,716 are being checked.