South Korea said Tuesday it has stepped up vigilance in its battle to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, with an alarming cluster of infections emerging in Seoul, although the pace of daily new infections continued to slow.

The 131 new cases, which were detected Monday, brought the nation's total number of infections to 7,513, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Monday's additional cases were far below the daily increases of 500 or more last week and marked the slowest one-day rise in confirmed cases in two weeks.

So far, 54 people, mostly elderly patients with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year, the KCDC said. Six more fatalities were reported in Daegu earlier in the day, but they have not been included in an official update.

The KCDC said 54 virus patients are in critical conditions. The flu-like virus causes a fever, cough, runny nose or headache for most healthy people, but the risk of severe infection is high for elderly people with underlying health problems. (Yonhap)

Nurses at Dongsan Hospital in virus-hit Daegu smile despite their hard work on March 9, 2020, with bandages on their cheeks and foreheads due to wearing goggles for a long time. (Yonhap)
Nurses at Dongsan Hospital in virus-hit Daegu smile despite their hard work on March 9, 2020, with bandages on their cheeks and foreheads due to wearing goggles for a long time. (Yonhap)

 

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