SEOUL: South Korea reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as thousands of sick people waited for hospital beds in Daegu, the city at the centre of the worst outbreak outside mainland China.

The new cases bring South Korea's total to 5,328, with at least 32 deaths, mostly in and around Daegu where the flu-like virus has spread rapidly through members of a fringe Christian group.

“We need special measures in times of emergency," South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a special cabinet meeting.

"In order to overcome COVID-19 as quickly as possible and minimise the impact on the economy, it is necessary to proactively inject all available resources."

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the new coronavirus which emerged from central China late last year and has spread around the world.

Hospitals in South Korea's hardest hit areas were scrambling to accommodate the surge in new patients.

In Daegu, 2,300 people were waiting to be admitted to hospitals and temporary medical facilities, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said.

A 100-bed military hospital that had been handling many of the most serious cases was due to have 200 additional beds available by Thursday, he added.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday declared "war" on the virus, apologised for shortages of face masks and promised support for virus-hit small businesses in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.