SEOUL, March 6 (CNA) - South Korea reported 196 new coronavirus cases on Friday (Mar 6), bringing the country's total to 6,284, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The agency added that seven more deaths from the virus were reported, bringing the total to 42.

On Thursday, as the number of cases continued to rise in the country, South Korea declared Gyeongsan - a city of about 275,000 people 250km southeast of Seoul - a "special care zone".

Gyeongsan has seen a spike in new cases, including at a nursing home. Similar zones have been declared around neighbouring Daegu and Cheongdo.

The majority of all cases in South Korea are in and around Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city, where the flu-like virus that emerged from China late last year has spread rapidly through members of a religious group.

At least 92 countries, including Singapore, have imposed some form of entry restrictions on arrivals from South Korea, according to Yonhap news agency.

Japan, on Thursday, said it plans to quarantine people coming from China and South Korea for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, according to a local report.

South Korea protested the decision, calling it "unreasonable, excessive and extremely regrettable".