Seoul, March 15, 2021, SPA -- South Korea on Monday reported 31 more new cases of COVID-19 variants, including 12 local infections, prompting health authorities to stay on guard against the spread of the more transmissible strains here, Yonhap News Agency reported. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 24 people were confirmed to have been infected with the British variant, and seven tested positive for the South African strain, raising the total to 213. South Korea has once again extended the ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, which has been in place since Dec. 23, until April 1 to block the new virus variant that was first identified there. Also, all entrants, both foreigners and locals, have been required to present certificates of negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken within 72 hours of their departure for South Korea since late February. On Monday, the country reported 382 more COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 96,107, the KDCA said. --SPA 14:44 LOCAL TIME 11:44 GMT 0009 www.spa.gov.sa/w1522846