South Korea will postpone the start of the new school semester by two weeks to March 23, the country's education minister Yoo Eun-hae told a briefing on Monday due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The total confirmed cases in the country is currently at 4,335.  

"Two weeks are essential for the coronavirus outbreak to ease," said Yoo, adding that the ministry will provide digital textbooks and online classes so that the students can avoid any study gaps.  

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military has risen to 28, with more than 9,790 in quarantine, South Korea's Defense Ministry said on Monday.  

The military has banned all officers and soldiers from taking leave, going out, staying out late at night and visiting relatives since February 22. South Korea's Defense Ministry said it believed the measures would be effective by early March.  
President Moon Jae-in on Monday visited a major South Korean military hospital that offers medical services to soldiers and civilians infected with the novel coronavirus, and the country has begun to mobilize military resources in earnest to fight the epidemic, according to Yonhap.  

He also met with a group of new graduates from the Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy who are set to be dispatched to Daegu, the epicenter of the fast spread of the outbreak in the country, the report added.  

South Korea reported 599 more cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,335, according to health authorities on Monday.

So far, 26 people, mostly with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the infection, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.