Covid-19 cases spike in South Korea

Workers preparing to spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea on Feb 5, 2020. - AP

DAEGU, South Korea (AFP): South Korea confirmed 52 more cases of novel coronavirus on Friday (Feb 21) as the number of infections linked to a religious sect in Daegu spiked, making it the worst-infected country outside China.

Thirty-nine of the new cases were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu, the Korean Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said, taking the country's overall figure to 156.