South Korea is on high alert after the number of reported coronavirus infections surged past 760 cases on Monday, and Cit economists warn economic difficulties for the country will be imminent.

"Fear of the virus is spreading throughout the country, at a much faster rate than the virus itself," Marie Kim and Jeeho Yoon from Citi wrote. "We expect the economic fallout to not be limited to certain regions (and) cities."

The total number of cases rose to 833 on Monday afternoon, compared to 31 cases reported as of Feb. 18, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a jump that's nearly 27 times higher — within about one week. Most of the new cases were detected in the city of Daegu and the surrounding Gyeongbuk area. The country's death toll rose to seven on Monday morning and remained unchanged in the afternoon update.

In a Monday morning note, the Citi economists explained that consumption in the country is declining as part of people's efforts to minimize human contact. Stores and factories are also shutting down for various reasons, including fear of exposure to the virus, lack of supply inputs or due to continuing loss, the Citi economists said.