(LEAD) S. Korea reports 15 more cases of novel coronavirus, total at 46

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from para 2)

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea confirmed 15 more cases of the novel coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 46, amid fears that the respiratory illness is spreading across the country despite tighter quarantine measures.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 13 new patients reside in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul and adjacent areas. They are presumed to have contracted the illness via contact with a 68-year-old South Korean woman who was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus infection Tuesday.

The woman, probably a coronavirus "super spreader," also lives in the city.

The health authorities said that the 11-year-old daughter of the country's 20th patient who was confirmed to be infected on Feb. 5 tested positive for the illness, while a 77-year-old man has also been diagnosed with the virus, according to the KCDC. The man has not traveled abroad.

All newly infected people have been placed in quarantine and are undergoing treatment.

The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 1,030 as of early Wednesday, up from 818 the day before the KCDC said in a release. South Korea has screened 10,411 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 9,335 testing negative and 12 people having been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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