SEOUL, Feb 21 (CNA) - South Korea reported 48 more novel coronavirus cases Friday afternoon (Feb 21), adding to 52 it announced in the morning, bringing the nationwide total to 204.

Among the latest cases, 46 were connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu, the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

More than 100 members of Shincheonji have now been infected, starting with a 61-year-old woman who developed a fever on Feb 10 but attended at least four church services before being diagnosed.

South Korea reported its first COVID-19 death on Thursday, a long-term patient at a hospital in Cheongdo county.

Shincheonji is often accused of being a cult and claims its founder, Lee Man-hee, has donned the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to heaven on the day of judgment.

The KCDC said one more case had been confirmed at a hospital in Cheongdo county near Daegu where a total of 16 infections have now been identified, including a long-stay patient who died Wednesday after showing symptoms of pneumonia.

The new coronavirus started in the Chinese city of Wuhan but has since spread to more than 25 countries.

Globally more than 2,000 people have died from the disease and more than 76,000 people have tested positive, the vast majority in China.