Seoul, March 08, 2021, SPA -- The Republic of Korea has confirmed 20 more cases of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 182, according to health authorities Monday amid concerns that the variants may worsen the country's virus battle, Yonhap News Agency reported. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the 20 people were confirmed to have been infected with three kinds of variants that are known to be more transmissible over the past week. Of them, nine people were local infections, all South Korean nationals, and 11 were imported cases, the KDCA said. The authorities have said they remain vigilant against the possibility that highly transmissible new variants from Britain, South Africa and Brazil could spark another uptick in virus cases. The country added 346 more COVID-19 cases Monday, returning to below 400, with the total caseload at 92,817, the KDCA said. --SPA 13:11 LOCAL TIME 10:11 GMT 0016 www.spa.gov.sa/w1517143