South Korea reported 51 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, with new infections detected in more cities compared with the previous trend of concentration in the Greater Seoul area.

Of the new cases, 31 were domestic cases, including 11 which were registered in Seoul and eight in Daejeon, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Door-to-door sales companies are said to be responsible for the increased caseloads in the two cities recently.

Twenty cases were imported from overseas amid concerns that more could be traced to a Russian-flagged cargo ship which docked in Busan, after 16 crew members tested positive on Tuesday.

Of the imported cases, 12 were detected at border checkpoints and eight tested positive while under self quarantine in Busan, Daegu and Gyeonggi Province among others.

With 51 new cases, the country’s total caseload rose to 12,535. The death toll remained flat at 281. Twenty-two more people were released after full recovery, as the total number of cured patients stood at 10,930.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp)