South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases have bounced back to over 50 as clusters showed continuing signs of spreading beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. 

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) added 51 cases from the past 24 hours ending 12 a.m. on Wednesday, lifting the tally to 12-thousand-851. 

Of the new cases, 36 were local infections with 20 reported from the wider Seoul area, including 11 in Gyeonggi Province and nine in the capital city. 

The southwestern city of Gwangju reported 12 cases amid multiple clusters, including those linked to a Buddhist temple and a mixed-use building. It is the first time a city or a province outside the greater Seoul region reported double-digit cases since 13 in the southeastern city of Daegu on April 7. 

Daejeon also added three local infections, including those linked to an elementary school, the first transmissions within a school in the nation since classroom reopenings in May. 

A total of 15 new cases were traced to overseas infections, marking the sixth consecutive day more than 10 imported cases were reported. 

The daily increase of 50 is a threshold for South Korean authorities, who may consider enforcing stricter social distancing rules if it is passed too much. The threshold was crossed for nine days last month, including 62 cases on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, no additional virus-related death was reported, leaving the death toll at 282.