South Korea confirmed 84 more new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 977, according to the Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 144 new cases were reported on Tuesday in total, with 116 from Daegu City.

So far, ten patients have died from the novel coronavirus in South Korea. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on February 25 that his administration will spare no effort in containing the spread of the virus during his first visit to Daegu since the outbreak.

Moon added that there should be a "clear turning point this week in the upward trend of the number of confirmed patients," reported Yonhap.

To solve the nationwide shortage of medical supplies, South Korean authorities recently decided to prohibit retailers from exporting face masks and limit the daily manufacturing number of face masks for exportation to under 10 percent of the total production. 

South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported on Tuesday that the daily volume of face masks production has reached 11 million, doubling the number from the previous two weeks. 

The World Table Tennis Championships was initially planned to take place in the city of Busan from March 22 to 29, but has been postponed to June 21 to 28.

Seoul has also decided to test all followers of the Shincheonji sect for the virus after the religious group agreed to provide a complete list of its members, Yonhap reported.

South Korean authorities earlier said the country plans to take strict containment measures in the city of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Monday that American citizens should avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea, adding that "older adults and people with chronic medical conditions may be at increased risk for severe disease."

(Cover: People wearing face masks walk on a street in Seoul, South Korea, February 25, 2020. /AP)