Coronavirus cases in South Korea surged by nearly 700 on Thursday, as infection clusters continued to spread despite heightened social distancing in effect nationwide.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said as of 12:00 a.m. Thursday, 682 additional people tested positive, raising the country's cumulative total to 40-thousand-98.

The overall tally surpasses the 40-thousand-mark nearly eleven months after the country's first case on January 20, and just 19 days after entering the 30-thousands.

The daily increase, which remained at around 100 up until early November, spiked rapidly over the past month to peak in the higher 600s.

Six-hundred-46 of the new cases were local infections, of which 489 were in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Authorities are on alert as the number of patients requiring intensive care rose by 23 to total 172, casting concerns over bed and facility shortages to accommodate those in serious condition.