South Korea designated the southeast cities of Daegu and Cheongdo as a “special management zone” after a super-spreader from a religious cult there nearly tripled the national infection tally to over 100 in three days.

In an emergency meeting Friday, Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the government will take extraordinary measures to pour more resources behind sickbeds, medical personnel and equipment in the two cities.

“With the infection tally surpassing 100, we believe the contagion has started spreading within the local population in some places,” Chung said. “If our focus so far has been preventing the virus from entering the country, we’ll now concentrate on preventing the further spread in local communities.”

He said the state would deploy military medics and provide makeshift facilities for those unable to impose self-quarantine. Weekly ministerial meetings chaired by the prime minister would be extended to include provincial governors and held three days a week, he added.

The number of new infections in the country jumped to 58 on Thursday, with 42 cases linked to a branch of a religious sect called Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, Korea’s fourth-largest city with a population of about 2.5 million.

Officials believe the super-spreader is a 61-year-old woman, also a Shincheonji member, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week. Shincheonji is considered a cult, with its founder Lee Man-hee claiming he is the Messiah. Its worship houses are located across the country, and about 1,000 members are believed to have attended the religious gathering on the same days as the super-spreader.

As of Friday morning, the country added 52 new infections, bringing the total to 156. Of the 52 cases, 39 are traced to Shincheonji.

Korea also reported its first death from the virus. A 63-year-old man, who had been hospitalized for an extended period in Cheongdo, died Wednesday after showing pneumonia symptoms in recent days. He was posthumously tested positive for the virus.

Korea now has the most infections outside China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus. As of Friday, China tallied a total of 75,012 confirmed cases and 2,236 deaths.

By Pulse

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