The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea rose to 6,088 on Thursday, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a "message of comfort" to South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
In the letter, Kim "conveyed his message of comfort to the South Korean people" and "expressed his confidence that they will prevail in this fight," according to Yoon Do-hae, the presidential Blue House senior secretary for public communication.
Kim "underlined his unwavering trust and friendship towards President Moon" and would "continue to quietly send his best wished for President Moon to overcome COVID-19," Yoon said.
The North Korean leader also "expressed his candid thoughts and positions on the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula," in the letter, which was delivered on Wednesday.
Moon sent a reply expressing his gratitude, Yoon said.
North Korea has not reported any confirmed infections of the COVID-19 virus and the World Health Organization has said it has not seen any signs of an outbreak there, but there have been unconfirmed accounts of cases published in media outlets with contacts inside the country.
South Korea is battling a massive outbreak of the infectious disease that began two weeks ago and has remained concentrated around the southeastern city of Daegu and a secretive religious sect there.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 322 new COVID-19 cases across the first 16 hours of Thursday, following 438 new cases on Wednesday. The death toll rose to 40, mostly elderly people with underlying illnesses.
Roughly 90 percent of cases remain based in Daegu, a city of 2.5 million people, and its neighboring North Gyeongsang province. The KCDC said that 60 percent of the total infections are connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a controversial new religious movement that was at the heart of the outbreak.
The number of reported cases began skyrocketing after a 61-year-old woman who is a member of the Shincheonji church in Daegu was confirmed as the country's 31st COVID-19 patient on Feb. 17. She had attended services at the church both before and after exhibiting symptoms, health authorities said.
Officials continue testing the more than 210,000 members of the church nationwide.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said on Thursday that health officials and forensic investigators began a probe of the Shincheonji headquarters in Gwacheon, a city neighboring Seoul to the south. Some municipal officials have been questioning the accuracy and completeness of the list of members that the group gave to the government, Kim said.
Kim said at a daily briefing that the testing of Shincheonji members showing symptoms has nearly been completed and authorities have expanded their focus to ordinary citizens of Daegu, where the highly infectious disease has been spreading throughout the community.
Health officials are also looking to contain the spread in other smaller clusters, such as a nursing home in North Gyeongsang province which had 34 cases reported among patients and staff on Thursday.
On Thursday, authorities designated Gyeongsan, a city near Daegu, as the nation's third "special care zone" for coronavirus infections. The government also announced that all day care centers will be closed until March 22. Schools from kindergarten through high school have already had the start of their spring semester pushed back to March 23.
South Korea has tested over 140,000 people for the coranvirus so far, a number far higher than most countries. In a positive sign, the KCDC announced the release of 47 fully recovered coronavirus patients Thursday, raising the number of those discharged from quarantine to 88.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
