South Korea has reported another significant increase in infections of the new coronavirus on Friday, with figures showing 518 new cases over the past day and seven more deaths.
This brings the total cases to 6,284 and the death toll up to 42, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The majority of the cases were concentrated in the south-eastern city of Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, the KCDC said.
As many as 60 per cent of the infections are linked to followers of a Christian sect in Daegu, which has a population of around 2.5 million, Yonhap news agency reported.
The KCDC also announced that 20 more fully recovered coronavirus patients have been released, bringing the total number of cured people to 108.
Also, China has reported 30 new coronavirus linked deaths on Friday, 29 of which were in the country’s hardest hit area, Hubei province, according to the national health commission.
This brings the total number of deaths from the virus outbreak in China to more than 3,000 since it began in December in Wuhan.
Beijing reported 143 new infections since the previous day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 80,552.
Tens of thousands of people around the world have contracted the new strain of coronavirus, which began spreading in the industrial hub of Wuhan, China, in December.
Meanwhile the South Asian kingdom of Bhutan recorded its first case of coronavirus, the Prime Minister said in a statement on Friday.
“The patient is a 76-year-old from the U. S., who had come to Bhutan as a tourist. He had entered the country from Paro International Airport from Guwahati, India on March 2,’’ the statement said.
In response, the government has temporarily closed schools and institutes in the cities of Thimphu, Paro and Punakha for two weeks, commencing Friday.
It has said it was placing restrictions on tourists, though the precise natures of the restrictions were unclear.(dpa/NAN)

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