The emergency room where the latest patient was tested for the new coronavirus is shut down.
[Anchor]
South Korea has reported a new case of the novel coronavirus today, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 29 after a five-day lull.
The latest case has sparked concern that the virus may spread widely to regional communities.
Sehhyeong Kim reports.
[Reporter]
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an 82-year-old Korean national was tested positive for the virus after visiting a hospital in Seoul with a heart problem and doctors decided to run coronavirus tests when he was found to have pneumonia.
The emergency room of the hospital has now been closed, while some 40 medical staff and others who have been in contact with the latest patient have been quarantined for tests.
The KCDC says the government is considering running coronavirus tests on all pneumonia patients hospitalized across the country in the coming days.
The move comes as the latest patient has no record of traveling overseas since December last year and is also believed to have had no contact with the country's other virus-confirmed patients.
KCDC chief Jung Eun-kyeong said the country now has to focus on preventing the spread of the coronavirus at medical institutions and in regional communities.
Meanwhile, the 20 patients currently being treated for the virus at hospitals are known to be in a stable condition.
Nine patients have recovered from the virus, with eight of them already released from their hospitals.
Sehhyeong Kim, eFM News.■
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