(A medical professional is seen at a preliminary testing facility at the National Medical Center where patients suspected of contracting coronavirus (COVID-19) are assessed on February 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea)[Getty/Kyodo]
SEOUL - South Korea continued to grapple with a surge in coronavirus infections on Friday as it reported 571 new cases, nearly doubling the total to 2,337 in just two days.
Of the new cases, 447 were in the southeastern city of Daegu, home to a branch of a Christian sect that has become the epicenter of the outbreak in the nation. The surrounding province of North Gyeongsang accounted for 64 new cases.
The death toll from the outbreak stood at 13, unchanged from the previous day.
Over two-thirds of the total virus cases in South Korea have focused on Daegu, the nation's fourth-largest city. With hundreds of cases added each day, Prime Minister Chung Sye Kyun has headed to the area to lead containment efforts.
On Friday, President Moon Jae In met with the heads of both ruling and opposition parties to discuss ways to overcome the epidemic, which is set to take a toll on the nation's economy.
Moon conveyed to them the government's plan to submit a special budget to parliament to implement a slew of anti-epidemic measures, while asking for bipartisan cooperation to deal with the national emergency.
Meanwhile, the office for the popular boy band BTS said Friday that it has canceled the group's four concerts planned in Seoul in April, citing difficulties foreseeing how the virus would spread in the coming months.
The move is expected to affect 200,000 concertgoers.
With 505 more cases reported Thursday, the number of daily new cases in South Korea has for the first time exceeded that of China, whose mainland figure stood at 433 the same day, according to local media.
The daily increase in South Korea continued to outpace that in mainland China on Friday, with 327 new cases reported in the latter.
The South Korean government says it is still in the process of testing over 30,000 people for the virus, likely taking the total higher as further cases are confirmed.
To expedite the testing process while maximizing the number of people to be tested, some municipalities have introduced "drive-thru" tests whereby people can get their samples taken through car windows.
South Korea is able to test over 10,000 people for the virus each day.
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