South Korea confirmed 293 more cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 5,621, according to Yonhap News Agency.

So far, the country's death toll has mounted to 33, with most of the fatalities being elderly patients with underlying illnesses, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

South Korea on Wednesday proposed an extra budget of 11.7 trillion won (9.82 billion U.S. dollars) to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus as well as minimize economic fallout from the epidemic. 

Yonhap reported the budget bill will be submitted to the country's National Assembly for approval on Thursday.

The country's Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said that 2.3 trillion won (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated to supply more medical equipment, hospital beds and facilities for patient treatment.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has canceled his plans to visit the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey in March to focus on the fight against the coronavirus, according to presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok.

Earlier, Moon declared war against COVID-19, placing all government agencies on a 24-hour alert.