SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported 600 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 4,812, with an alarming cluster of infections continuing to swell in the southeastern city of Daegu.

So far, 28 people, mostly ones with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year.

About 60 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city, with a population of 2.5 million.

The justice ministry said last week that some members of the religious group visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, the global epicenter of the virus.

Of the new cases, 519 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and 61 are in neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The latest the latest figure was tallied at midnight Monday.