South Korea has reported 599 new coronavirus cases, the highest in 10 days, as health workers scramble to slow infections at religious facilities, which have been a major source throughout the pandemic.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said 112 of the new cases came from the southwestern city of Gwangju, where more than 100 have so far been linked to a missionary training school. An affiliated facility in the central city of Daejeon has been linked to more than 170 infections.
The Seoul metropolitan area reported nearly 300 cases.
South Korea has repeatedly seen big clusters emerge from religious groups, including more than 5,000 linked to the secretive Shincheonji Church of Jesus that drove a major outbreak last spring.
The figures released by the agency on Wednesday brought the national caseload to 76,429, including 1,378 deaths.
