Wife of US Forces Korea soldier coronavirus patient tests positive: Yonhap

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Soldiers screen visitors at the entrance to Camp Humphreys at Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 29. Yonhap

She has been in self-quarantine since Wednesday, when her husband, based at Camp Carroll in South Korea's southeastern county of Chilgok, tested positive, according to USFK.

"The patient has not been in contact with any other USFK or USFK affiliated personnel since going into quarantine," USFK said, adding that she has been transferred to a US military hospital.

South Korean and U.S. health officials determined that contact tracing was not necessary due to her quarantine measures and lack of interaction with others, USFK said.

Chilgok, about 220 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in North Gyeongsang Province, is near Daegu, where a coronavirus outbreak has spread rapidly over the past week. More than 80 percent of South Korea's total cases have been reported in the city and the province.

USFK first reported a COVID-19 case among people connected to it on Monday when a 61-year-old widowed USFK dependent in Daegu tested positive. On Friday, a South Korean employee at Camp Carroll was reported to have been infected.

"USFK remains at risk level 'high' ... and is implementing all appropriate control measures to help control the spread of COVID-19 and as a prudent measure to protect the force," USFK said in a release.

Cases exceed 3,000

South Korea confirmed 219 more coronavirus cases on Saturday (Feb 29), the biggest increase to date for the country and taking the national total to 3,150 infections with three additional deaths.

The new cases added to the 594 confirmed earlier in the day.

More than 90 per cent of the new cases were in Daegu, the centre of the country's outbreak, and its neighbouring North Gyeongsang province, the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

Three women in the Daegu area died of the illness, taking the national toll to 16, the statement added. One of the victims was aged in her 90s.

The other two tested positive for the coronavirus posthumously, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The national total is expected to rise further with screening of more than 210,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive entity often accused of being a cult that is linked to around half of the country's cases.

A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on Feb 10, but attended at least four church services in Daegu - the country's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million - before being diagnosed.

The number of patients cured of the disease remained unchanged at 27.

Facing public criticism, a Shincheonji spokesman said the church members were "victims" of the outbreak, calling the backlash a "witch hunt".

"I ask you to discard hatred and criticism against our members," said the spokesman in a video posted on the Shincheonji website.

More than 86 percent of South Korea's coronavirus cases are in Daegu and the neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang, according to the KCDC.

Of those who test positive for the virus, 80 percent can be treated with medication because they have "light symptoms", said vice health minister Kim Gang-lip, adding that the rest would need more advanced treatment in hospitals.

The streets of Daegu - South Korea's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million - have been largely deserted for days, apart from long queues at the few shops with masks for sale.

Authorities have urged the public to exercise caution and anyone with a fever or respiratory symptoms to stay home.

But officials say they are not considering a citywide quarantine for the city in the manner of the lockdown imposed on the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged.

"Please refrain from holding big outdoor meetings or indoor religious assemblies," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a Saturday a meeting in Daegu, where he is leading the government's response.

A surge in confirmed cases has led many events to be cancelled or postponed as the outbreak has hit the world's 12th-largest economy, including concerts by K-pop superstars BTS and the World Team Table Tennis Championships.

The new school term has been delayed by one week, and the US and South Korean militaries have postponed forthcoming joint exercises.

Auto giant Hyundai Motor also suspended operations at one of its Ulsan plants after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus./.