South Korea on Monday identified another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 30, with the latest two cases' infection routes being unknown.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country's latest patient is the 68-year-old wife of the 29th patient who tested positive for the virus Sunday.

The 82-year-old man is not known to have been in contact with the country's other virus-confirmed patients or recently traveled abroad.

The KCDC is struggling to find out how the couple contracted the virus amid concerns that the virus could spread rapidly among the general public.

The country considers testing those who suffer from unknown causes of pneumonia for potential COVID-19 virus.

The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 408 as of early Monday. South Korea has screened 8,171 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 7,733 testing negative and nine people having been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries. (Yonhap)