South Korea on Feb. 25 reported 144 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and three additional deaths.
Three additional deaths were also reported on Feb. 25, bringing the national death toll to 11.
The 11th death was the first foreign national in South Korea to have died from the virus. A 35-year-old male from Mongolia died in a hospital on the outskirts of Seoul, according to the KCDC. He had a history of liver problems.
The 10th death involves a 58-year-old man who died of COVID-19 on Feb. 25 at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, a county in North Gyeongsang province. Six other deaths are connected to the same hospital.
The country’s ninth death involves a 68-year-old woman who died on Feb. 24 at the Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital. She tested positive for the virus on the same day prior to her death.
South Korea now has at least 977 known cases of coronavirus.
Of the 144 new cases, 116 are in Daegu and the broader North Gyeongsang province. Daegu is located about 186 miles southeast of the capital Seoul.
Many of the infection cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang province are connected to Shincheonji Church in Daegu, after a 61-year-old female super-spreader, a member of the church, tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18 as the country’s 31st confirmed case.
Of the country’s 977 cases, 43 are in South Korea’s coastal city of Busan. Among them, 22 are connected to a Christian church in the city’s Dongnae district.
Meanwhile, 82 known cases are in Seoul and the broader Gyeonggi province.
According to KCDC, 22 patients have fully recovered from the virus and have been discharged from hospital.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in was in Daegu on Feb. 25 when he set a deadline this week for the “very grave” situation in the city for a “clear turning point.”
