South Korea reported 74 new cases of the new coronavirus Monday, slightly down from 76 new cases a day earlier, bringing the nation's total infections to 8,236, as health authorities battle to contain cluster infections across the nation.

The 74 new cases, which were detected on Sunday, marked the lowest number of daily infections in more than three weeks and the second straight day that daily new infections fell to a double-digit increase.

So far, 75 people, mostly elderly patients with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

About 61 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious sect in Daegu, which is the country's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million.

The pace of daily new inflections has shown marked signs of slowing since the second week of this month as health authorities completed extensive testing of 210,000 Shincheonji followers who are at the center of the rapid spread, but authorities are still on high alert over new clusters of infections, including at a call center in Seoul's Guro district and the country's government complex in the administrative city of Sejong.

Of the 74 new cases, 35 are in Daegu and seven are in North Gyeongsang, the KCDC said. The total number of confirmed cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, the two epicenters of the virus outbreak here, stood at 6,066 and 1,164, respectively.

Other major provinces and cities have also reported some infections, with Gyeonggi Province reporting 20 additional cases.

A total of 40 people who are tied to a Christian church in Seongnam, south of Seoul, tested positive for the virus on Sunday, raising the total number of infections at the River of Grace Church to 46, local officials said.

With unknown virus patients who have not developed symptoms appearing to cause significant amounts of infection, the government has called for people to avoid non-essential gatherings in crowded places, such as religious facilities, nursing homes, internet cafes and karaoke rooms.

Since raising the virus alert level to "red," the highest level, on Feb. 23, health authorities have focused on halting the spread of the virus in Daegu and North Gyeongsang.

On Sunday, the government designated Daegu and three other hard-hit areas in North Gyeongsang as "special disaster zones," allowing it to subsidize about half of recovery spending and exempt people there from taxes and utility fees.

The World Health Organization declared last week that the global coronavirus crisis is a pandemic as the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. (Yonhap)