S. Korea reports 101 more COVID-19 cases, 9,887 in total
Office workers wearing face masks amid concerns over the COVID-19 novel coronavirus walk past blossoms during their lunch break in central Seoul on March 31, 2020.
South Korea reported 101 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Wednesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,887.
Three more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 165. The total fatality rate stood at 1.67 percent.
A total of 159 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 5,567.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated the data once a day at 10am local time from March 10, after having announced it twice a day.
Except for the first 31 cases, all the infections have been reported since February 19. The country has raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level.
The total number of infections in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province increased to 6,704 and 1,302 respectively. It accounted for over 80 percent of the total.
The numbers in Seoul and its adjacent Gyeonggi province came to 474 and 499 each.
Small cluster infections were still found in Daegu, Seoul and Gyeonggi province. Seven more cases were detected at airports, lifting the total number to 224.
Daegu became the epicenter of the viral spread here as the biggest cluster of infections was found in the metropolis with a 2.5-million population. Daegu has been designated by the government as a "special disaster zone."
The Daegu cluster was closely linked to the church services of a homegrown minor religious sect, called Sincheonji, in Daegu. Members of the sect are known to sit on the floor closely side by side during church services.
Since January 3, the country has tested more than 421,000 people, among whom 395,075 tested negative for the virus and 16,585 were being checked.
