Seoul: South Korean officials have warned against prematurely calling the peak of the coronavirus outbreak while expressing hope the country is nearing a "turning point" in the crisis as the pace of new infections slowed.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 69 new coronavirus cases on Monday. The new cases brought South Korea's total infections to 7382, while the death toll rose by one to 51, the KCDC said. The rate of increase in new infections fell to its lowest level in 10 days.

"I'm still extremely cautious but there's hope we can reach a turning point in the near future," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Monday before returning to Seoul from the hard-hit southeastern city of Daegu.

A South Korean soldier adjusts his goggles before setting off on a disinfecting mission as part of South Korea's multibillion-dollar coronavirus blitz. Credit:Bloomberg

Health authorities say the number of new infections being identified has dwindled as most of the roughly 200,000 followers of a fringe Christian church at the centre of the epidemic in Daegu have now been tested.