South Korea reported three additional deaths tied to new coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country's death toll to 16, the national public health agency said.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the three -- all women aged from 60-90 either quarantined at local hospitals or at home -- died of COVID-19 in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Two were posthumously diagnosed with the disease and the third had received treatment after testing positive for the virus on Sunday. Other details are not yet available.

As of 4 p.m. on Friday, South Korea reported 2,337 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, with 81,167 people having been tested since Jan. 3.

Nearly 70 percent of patients have been reported from Daegu, with a cluster of infections tied to the fringe religious group Shincheonji located there.

(Yonhap)