SEOUL, Apr 4 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 94 more COVID-19 cases, compared to 24 hours ago, as of midnight Saturday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,156.
Three more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 177. The total fatality rate came in at 1.74 percent.
A total of 304 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 6,325.
Except for the first 31 cases, all infections have been reported since Feb 19. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest “red” level.
Small cluster infections were still found in Daegu, Seoul and Gyeonggi province. Of the new cases, 32 were imported from overseas.
The total number of infections in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province increased to 6,761 and 1,310 respectively. It accounted for about 80 percent of the total.
The numbers in Seoul and its adjacent Gyeonggi province came to 528 and 562 each.
Daegu became the epicentre of the viral spread here as the biggest cluster of infections was found in the metropolis with a 2.5 million population. Daegu is 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. Members of the sect are known to sit on the floor, closely side by side, during church services.
Since Jan 3, the country tested more than 455,000 people, among whom 424,732 tested negative and 20,144 were checked.– NNN-YONHAP
