South Korean honor guards perform a rifle drill during an Armed Forces Day display at Daegu Air Base in Daegu, South Korea, in September 2019. Credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images

South Korea’s military administration will temporarily suspend the examinations needed for conscription in the southern city of Daegu city and surrounding North Gyeongsang Province following a mass outbreak of novel coronavirus there.

The examinations will be suspended for two weeks from Friday, the administration said on Thursday.

It is also instructing people due for conscription in that region to apply for conscription postponement, and has adjusted schedules for recruitment interviews.

South Korea cases spike: The number of cases in South Korea has soared, from 28 a week ago to at least 204 as of Friday afternoon. The outbreak there is centered around Daegu.

Among the new cases, most are linked to the Shincheonji group. South Korean authorities Thursday were seeking to question more than 1,000 members of the religious group who attended a service with one of the recently confirmed cases.

Two patients who have been diagnosed with coronavirus have died in South Korea, according to the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The first patient tested positive for the virus after their death, according to the KCDC on Thursday. On Friday, KCDC director Jung Eun-Kyeong said the victim had a chronic lung disease and had been hospitalized for a long period of time.

Jung also stated that the second patient, identified as a woman born in 1965, was confirmed to have the virus on Friday.

This post has been updated to more accurately reflect when coronavirus was detected in the first patient and added details of the second patient.