SOUTH KOREA confirmed 231 more cases of the COVID-19 yesterday, raising the total number of infections to 833, and the death toll rose to eight.

The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest “red” level Sunday as the virus infections soared for the past week. A total of 571 new cases were reported from Wednesday to Sunday.

Two clusters of infections in the country’s southeastern region contributed the most to the recent viral spread.

Of the total patients, 681 were residents in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of the capital Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province.

As of 9:00 a.m. yesterday, 458 cases had been linked to the church services of a minor religious group, called Sincheonji, in Daegu. It was up from 329 in the previous day.

Out of 70 new cases added to the afternoon announcement, the link to the church services had yet to be known.

In Iran, the confirmed death toll climbed yesterday by four to 12.

There were also concerns the situation in Iran may be worse than officially acknowledged, with the semi-official ISNA news agency quoting a local lawmaker in hardest-hit Qom city that 50 people had died there.

The Iranian Government denied there had been 50 deaths and pledged transparency.

Even so, authorities have only reported 64 infections in Iran, an unusually small number that would mean an extremely high mortality rate.

In Italy, a fourth fatality was confirmed yesterday, deepening fears about the virus spreading through Europe.

More than 150 people have been infected in Italy, where several Serie A football games were postponed over the weekend.

The famed Venice Carnival was also cut short and some Milan Fashion Week runway shows were canceled. (SD-Agencies)