South Korea reported 851 more coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with the total number of cases in the second-worst-affected country after China reaching 5,186.

The Health and Welfare Ministry confirmed another 374 infections later on the day after reporting 477 cases earlier.

According to the health authorities' earlier statement, 3,600 of the cases were traced to the southeastern city of Daegu, the epicenter of the nation's outbreak, and 685 to surrounding North Gyeongsang Province.

With most of the cases from Daegu linked to a branch of a minor Christian sect known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Seoul municipal official said the city plans to nullify its registration as incorporated association for neglecting the fast transmission of the deadly virus.

The death toll rose to 29, up three from Monday.

The number of people who tested positive for the pneumonia-causing virus in Seoul stood at 98.

The number of cases in the country's military rose by three to reach 31 as of early Tuesday, according to the Defense Ministry.

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday singled out the epidemic in South Korea, as well as those in Iran, Italy and Japan, as of "greatest concern."

Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus told a press briefing in Geneva that most cases in South Korea appear to have originated in five known clusters, rather than the wider community.

"That's important because it indicates that surveillance measures are working and Korea's epidemic can still be contained," he said.

With the spread of the virus in South Korea, over 80 countries and regions have implemented travel restrictions or 14-day quarantines on South Korean visitors.

The South Korean government said that from Tuesday, it will check the body temperatures of passengers on all direct flights to the United States before boarding. Anyone who has a fever of 37.5 C or higher will be denied boarding.

China reported 125 confirmed cases on Tuesday, its lowest number of new infections since authorities began disclosing nationwide data in January.

The data as of Monday brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 80,151, the National Health Commission said. The death toll from the outbreak reached 2,943, up by 31 from a day earlier with all of them reported in the worst-hit Hubei Province.

Over 47,000 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals after completing treatment, according to the health authorities.

Globally, over 3,000 people have died after being infected with the virus, including dozens in Italy and Iran.

Iran, the epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East, reported 523 new infections on Monday, taking the country's total cases to 1,501, with 66 deaths.

Indonesia, long the sole major Southeast Asian country without a single confirmed case, reported its first two cases the same day. Portugal, the Czech Republic and Jordan also reported their first cases.