The novel coronavirus appears to have spread nationwide this week with a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 virus infections, with Daegu being the largest cluster in the country as of Friday.

Cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed across the country, except for the cities of Busan, Ulsan, Daejeon and Sejong as well as Gangwon Province, as of Friday afternoon, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Korea had 100 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, as the total number of infections skyrocketed to 204. The number has seen nearly a sevenfold increase in just three days.

Daegu reported the majority of the new virus infections with 126, 124 of whom attended Sunday services at the Daegu branch of the minor religious sect Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

In total, 144 out of 204 infection cases have been linked to the group.

As of Friday afternoon, the KCDC said they had secured a list of 9,300 followers of the church’s Daegu unit. Of those they had contacted so far, some 544 members of the Shincheonji group had shown symptoms of the disease, it sad.

In Seoul, there were 20 new cases of the coronavirus, with nine cases from the Jongno district.

Jongno, located in the heart of Seoul, is home to the presidential office, government offices, major foreign embassies and companies, as well as tourist attractions such as the main palace Gyeongbokgung.

Seocho in southern Seoul saw its first confirmed case of the virus Friday.

Gyeonggi Province had 17 people infected with the virus -- two each in Gimpo, Pyeongtaek, Bucheon and Goyang and three in Suwon, Guri and Siheung.

The first COVID-19 cases for the North and South Chungcheong provinces, South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island were also confirmed Friday.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)