South Korea virus cases pass 1,100 with 11 deaths

The number of new virus infections in South Korea jumped again on Wednesday, health officials confirmed, adding that the majority of the new cases were connected to a southeastern city with an illness cluster.

The country now has 1,146 confirmed infections of the virus and 11 fatalities from the COVID-19 illness, Vice Health and Welfare Minister, Kim Kang-lip told the media during a news briefing in Seoul.

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 134 of the 169 new cases were confirmed in Daegu, where the government has been mobilizing public health tools to contain the virus. Another 19 cases were in neighboring North Gyeongsang province towns.

The number of cases is expected to rise still further as officials finish testing hundreds of members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, which has the country's largest cluster of infections.

The Church has reportedly agreed to hand over a list with details of over 200,000 of its members.