South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant on the street to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19, at Gangnam district in Seoul on Thursday. South Korea’s total number of novel coronavirus cases – the largest outside China – rose above 6,000. Photo: AFP

 South Korea reported 10 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, raising the total number of infections to 10,728.

The daily caseload hovered around 10 for the eighth consecutive day. Of the new cases, nine were imported from overseas, lifting the combined number to 1,037.

Two more deaths were confirmed, raising the death toll to 242. The total fatality rate came in at 2.26 percent.

A total of 82 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 8,717. The total recovery rate was 81.3 percent.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has updated the data once a day at 10:00 a.m. local time from March 10, after having announced it twice a day.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 598,000 people, among whom 578,558 tested negative for the virus and 8,999 were being checked.