South Korea reported 516 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the nation's total number of infections to 5,328, with the outbreak in the southeastern city of Daegu, the hotspot here, showing little sign of a slowdown.

So far, 32 people, mostly elderly patients with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

About 60 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious sect in Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city, with a population of 2.5 million.

However, health authorities have shifted their focus to testing ordinary citizens in Daegu, citing an alarming level of community spread.

Of the 516 new cases, which were detected on Tuesday, 405 are in Daegu and 89 are in neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, the two epicenters of the virus outbreak here, the KCDC said.

The total confirmed cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang stood at 4,006 and 774, respectively.

Other major provinces and cities have also reported infections, with Seoul seeing one additional case, bringing its total to 99.

Busan's caseload rose by three to 93. New cases were also reported in several provinces, including Gyeonggi, Gangwon and South Chungcheong.

Since raising the virus alert level to "red," the highest level, on Feb. 23, health authorities have focused on halting the spread of the virus in Daegu and North Gyeongsang.

According to the central government and Daegu city, about 2,300 confirmed cases in Daegu are tied to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. About 11,000 ordinary citizens there with no connection to Shincheonji have undergone tests and 1,300 have tested positive for the virus.

Following the report of the first case in South Korea on Jan. 20, the pace of infections had not been alarming until Feb. 18, when a 61-year-old woman linked to the Shincheonji sect in Daegu tested positive for the virus.

Since then, the nation has seen an explosion in infections and has accelerated virus tests on potential cases.

South Korea has released 41 fully recovered novel coronavirus patients from hospitals as of Tuesday, up 7 from a day earlier, the KCDC said.

The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 28,474 as of Tuesday, down 7,141 from the day before, it added. The country has tested a total of 131,379 suspected cases, with 102,965 testing negative.

Currently, there is no evidence that the new coronavirus is airborne. The World Health Organization said the virus is transmitted through droplets or close contact. The best measures to protect yourself from the virus are to wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and avoid mass gatherings, health officials said.

To help raise awareness of the virus among foreigners in South Korea, Arirang TV and the state-run Korea Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) said they are offering simultaneous English-language translation services on daily media briefings by health authorities via Arirang TV's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/arirang) and KOCIS' website (www.korea.net). (Yonhap)