The daily caseload hovered below 30 for the eighth consecutive day. Of the new cases, seven were imported from overseas, raising the combined number to 1,006.

Two more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 236. The total fatality rate came in at 2.21 percent.

A total of 72 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 8,114. The total recovery rate was 76.0 percent.

Except for the first 30 cases, all the infections have been reported since February 18. 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 came to 6,833 and 1,361 respectively. It accounted for almost 80 percent of the total.

The numbers in Seoul and its adjacecent Gyeonggi province came in at 624 and 656 each.

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 563,000 people, among whom 540,380 tested negative for the virus and 11,981 were being checked.