South Korea raised its alert level to "highest" on the latest coronavirus epidemic, President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday, in the face of a sudden spike in infection numbers.
"The incident involving the Covid-19 faces a significant turning point," Mr. Moon said after a government meeting on the virus. “The government will raise the alert level to the highest level.”
South Korea registered 123 new confirmed cases of coronavirus and a fifth death from the virus on Sunday, bringing the total infections to 556, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC.)
More than half of the additional cases were found to be linked to a Shincheonji Church of Jesus congregation in Daegu's south-eastern city where a 61-year-old woman identified as Patient 31 who attended church services last week tested positive for the virus. The woman has had no recent record of traveling overseas.
Earlier cases in South Korea were linked to China, but the new infections are centered on Daegu, a town of about 2.5 million, and a hospital in Cheongdo, a county with about 43,000 people.
In response to the recent sharp rise in cases, KCDC on Friday named the city of Daegu and the county of Cheongdo as "special care areas."
Since the first outbreak on Jan 20, four people have died from the virus in South Korea.
The fourth patient who died on Sunday was a 57-year-old man who was at the Cheongdo hospital, according to the KCDC.
Nine of the 39 South Korean Catholics who had gone to Israel earlier this month on a pilgrimage were believed to have been infected with the virus a day before.
Catholic churches have suspended mass and other gatherings in the cities of Daegu and Gwangju, and elsewhere.
The coronavirus, which originated in China, has spread to over two dozen different countries.
According to data through Saturday, China has reported 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths.
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