South Korea has reported nearly 700 new COVID-19 cases, amid continued outbreaks of clusters in various places nationwide. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said on Friday that 695 new infections were detected the previous day to raise the country’s cumulative total to 142-thousand-852.

Out of the new cases, 674 were local infections, while 21 were imported.

The daily figure slightly increased from the previous day, remaining in the upper 600s for the third consecutive day.

More than 60 percent of new domestic cases came from the greater metro area, with 205 in Seoul, 204 in Gyeonggi Province and ten in Incheon. 

Other parts of the nation added 255 cases including 65 in the southeastern city of Daegu and 43 in South Gyeongsang Province. 

Health authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation in Daegu, which reported nearly 140 cases over the past two days.
 
One more death was reported, raising the death toll to one-thousand-969. The fatality rate stands at one-point-38 percent. The number of critically ill patients rose by two to 151.