New COVID-19 cases in South Korea remained in the upper 600s for the second straight day on Thursday, amid continued reports of clusters from daily interactions nationwide. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said as of 12:00 a.m., 681 additional people tested positive, raising the country’s cumulative total to 142-thousand-157.

Three more people succumbed to the virus, with the death toll standing at one-thousand-968.

Out of the new cases, 672 were local infections, and 444, or over 66 percent, were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation in the southeastern city of Daegu, which was a hot spot during the first wave in February last year, after more than 70 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours.