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SEOUL, April 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 53 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Wednesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,384.

The newly confirmed cases stayed around 50 for the third consecutive day, after recording 47 both on Monday and Tuesday. Of the total new cases, 14 were imported ones.

Eight more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 200. The total fatality rate came in at 1.93 percent.

A total of 82 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 6,776.

Except for the first 31 cases, all the infections have been reported since Feb. 19. The country has raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level.

The total number of infections in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province increased to 6,803 and 1,320 respectively. It accounted for almost 80 percent of the total.

The numbers in Seoul and its adjacent Gyeonggi province came to 578 and 596 each.

Daegu became the epicenter of the viral spread here as the biggest cluster of infections was found in the metropolis with a 2.5 million population. Daegu has been designated by the government as a "special disaster zone."

The Daegu cluster was closely linked to the church services of a homegrown minor religious sect, called Sincheonji, in Daegu. Members of the sect are known to sit on the floor closely side by side during church services.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 486,000 people, among whom 457,761 tested negative for the virus and 17,858 were being checked.