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CAPE TOWN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Sunday reported 34 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total to 274.

Of the 274 cases, 208 patients, or 76 percent, have a history of travel from an area hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

The majority of the rest had contact with persons who have an international travel history, the institute said.

Contact tracing of all cases is underway to detect potential infections, the NICD said.

South Africa reported its first case on March 5. The COVID-19 patients had mostly traveled to Europe, the United States, Canada or the Middle East.

Of the country's nine provinces, seven provinces have so far reported COVID-19 cases, with Gauteng posting the highest number, followed by Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The only provinces with no cases are Northern Cape and North West.