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S. Korea reports 229 new virus cases, total surges to 433

TOKYO, Feb 22 (KUNA) -- South Korea reported 229 new cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the nation to 433, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The number of COVID-19 infections in the country has soared in the past few days, with most infections traced to a hospital in the southeastern county of Cheongdo and a minor Christian sect in the southeastern city of Daegu, the report said.
Daegu, where the 2.5 million inhabitants have been asked to stay indoors, and neighboring Cheongdo were designated by the government as a "special management zone" on Friday. Of the 229 new cases, 95 are related to Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, where South Korea's first coronavirus fatality occurred, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
A 63-year-old man, who died of pneumonia at the hospital on Wednesday, posthumously tested positive for the virus.
On Friday, another patient died from the coronavirus at a hospital in Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, after being transferred from Daenam Hospital, the second death from the virus in South Korea.
The public health agency said 62 new cases are tied to the minor Christian sect known as Shincheonji in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, and neighboring North Gyeongsang Province and other areas.
The health authorities said 231 virus patients have been traced to the Shincheonji church's services in Daegu, the center said, adding it has placed a total of 9,336 Shincheonji members in self-quarantine.
The country's 31st patient, a probable "super spreader," had attended the church's worship services in Daegu. The 61-year-old South Korean woman, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week, is believed to have infected others. The health ministry said it will allow hospitals to separate respiratory patients from others in an effort to prevent human-to-human transmissions and will also check all pneumonia patients in Daegu hospitals.
"Community spread of infections began in some limited areas, and we believe that Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province are in a special situation," Vice Health and Welfare Minister Kim Kang-lip told reporters in Seoul on Saturday. (end) mk.rk