With a total of 156 infected people, South Korea is now the country after China with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus. The vast majority are in Daegu, the country's fourth largest city with 2.5 million inhabitants.
Patient 31A large part of the new cases can be linked to a 61-year-old woman - referred to as "patient 31" - who has participated in at least four of the religious movements "New Heaven and New Earth" services before she was diagnosed with the disease, writes the news agency AP .
On Friday, more than 400 of the movement's members had shown symptoms of coronavirus, says Daegus Mayor Kwon Young-jin. Samples of suspected infected persons continue during Friday and several of the group's churches have been closed down.
The leader and self-proclaimed messiah figure for "New Heaven and New Earth" has described the outbreak as a "devil's work" and as a test of the members' faith. He has also urged members to obey the instructions of the authorities and not to arrange services at this time.
"Super Dissemination"Health authorities in South Korea describe the latest outbreak as a "super-proliferation" and have established two special zones with restrictions in the city to isolate the infection.
During Friday, shopping malls, restaurants and streets were empty in Daegu, reports the news agency AP. The mayor has described the outbreak as an "unprecedented disaster" and has urged residents to stay indoors.
Restrictions will also be imposed in South Korea's capital Seoul. Local authorities have announced that no demonstrations will be allowed in the coming days. Something that usually happens on weekends.
Also, after several members of South Korea's defense force are infected, no soldiers will be allowed to take time off or receive visits this weekend, following a decision by the country's defense minister, the AP reports.