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Coronavirus Cases Surge in South Korean City; Thousands Screened

Associated Press

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - South Korea on Saturday reported an eight-fold
   jump in viral infections in four days to 433, most of them linked to a
   church and a hospital in and around the country's fourth-largest city,
   where health workers scrambled to screen more than 9,000 worshipers.

   There's concern that the death toll, currently at two, could grow.
   Virus patients with signs of pneumonia or other serious conditions at
   the Cheongdo hospital were transferred to other facilities, 17 of them
   in critical condition, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told
   reporters.

   He said the outbreak had entered a serious new phase, but still
   expressed cautious optimism that it can be contained to the region
   surrounding Daegu, where the first case was reported Tuesday.

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