The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea spiked to 40 as new clusters emerged in the Seoul metropolitan area. 

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) on Wednesday tallied a total of eleven-thousand-265 novel coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m., including the latest compiled in the past 24 hours. 

It is the highest daily increase in 49 days and stokes concern that the situation will be further aggravated as more than two million students across the country return to classrooms.

Thirty-six patients, or 90 percent of the new cases, were reported in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, including 19 cases in the capital city. The number of cases linked to online retailer Coupang’s distribution center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, continues to grow as do cases connected to clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon district. 

Three of the new cases were imported from overseas. 

Meanwhile, the virus-related death toll remained unchanged at 269.