Virus cases swell in South Korea as outbreak shifts, spreads

Schools were shuttered, churches told worshipers to stay away and some mass gatherings were banned as cases of a new virus swelled Friday in South Korea, the newest front in a widening global outbreak.

The country said two people have died and 204 have been infected with the virus, quadruple the number of cases it had two days earlier, as a crisis centered in China has begun strongly reverberating elsewhere.

The multiplying caseload in South Korea showed the ease with which the illness can spread. Though initial infections were linked to China, new ones have not involved international travel.

The World Health Organization warned that such clusters not directly linked to travel from China suggest that time may be running out to contain the outbreak.

The window of opportunity is still there. But our window of opportunity is narrowing, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

We need to act quickly before it closes completely. Tedros singled out Iran's discovery of 18 cases and four deaths in two days and that a traveler from Iran carried the virus to Lebanon, and another traveler from Iran to Canada.

These dots are very concerning take them as dots or trends, he said.

South Korea Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun started a government meeting on the health emergency by saying, We have entered an emergency phase."