S. Korea reports 4th death from novel coronavirus

South Korea reported the fourth death from the new coronavirus Sunday, with the number of confirmed virus cases here surpassing 500.

The latest victim of the potentially fatal illness was a 57-year-old patient at Daenam Hospital in the southeastern city of Cheongdo, where the country's first COVID-19 fatality took place, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The fourth victim was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Wednesday. The patient in his late 50s suffered from serious pneumonia before being infected with the novel coronavirus.

South Korea reported its first death on Feb. 19, when a 63-year-old man died of pneumonia at the same hospital. He tested positive for COVID-19 after his death.

On Friday, another virus patient in her mid-50s died at Daenam Hospital.

So far, 111 people, including nine medical staff, have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 at the hospital.

The hospital emerged as another epicenter of the spread of the virus in South Korea, along with a minor religious organization in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The number of cases that can be traced to Shincheonji church services reached 309 as of Sunday morning, accounting for more than half of the total cases here. (Yonhap)