(LEAD) S. Korea reports 1 more case of novel coronavirus, total now at 30

All News 10:38 February 17, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in lead, paras 5-7; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Monday identified another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 30, with the latest two cases' triggering alarm bells as authorities do not know how the infections took place.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country's latest patient is the 68-year-old wife of the 29th case who tested positive for the virus Sunday.

The 82-year-old man is not known to have been in contact with the country's other virus-confirmed patients or recently traveled abroad.

The KCDC is struggling to find out how the couple contracted the virus amid concerns that the infection could spread rapidly among the general public.

"The wife had been in self-quarantine and transferred to a hospital for monitoring and treatment," the public health agency said.

The country considers testing those who suffer from unknown causes of pneumonia for the potential COVID-19 virus at the discretion of medical personnel.

South Korea also said it plans to greatly increase the number of COVID-19 tests it can conduct on a daily basis from the current 5,000 to 10,000 by the end of the month so as to better identify and isolate infected people.

The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 408 as of early Monday. South Korea has screened 8,171 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 7,733 testing negative and nine people having been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries.