A gathering at a golf club in Yongin, south of Seoul, has emerged as a new hotbed for cluster infections of the new coronavirus, health authorities said Wednesday.

Virus cases traced to the golf gathering that took place on Oct. 17 came to 42, up 11 from a day earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Of them, 16 were participants, 25 were family members and acquaintances and one was a golf club employee, it said.

The gathering was organized as part of an alumni event of an undisclosed university in Seoul, the KDCA said.

"Around 80 people participated in the event at the golf course on Oct. 17 and also dined together," Park Yeong-joon, a KDCA official, said in a daily briefing, adding that additional cases occurred as the participants had separate gatherings afterward.

The authorities said they completed COVID-19 tests on all 800 people linked to the golf gathering and are closely monitoring those who had contacts. (Yonhap)