According to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), a 54-year-old South Korean resident of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, who arrived back home on Monday tested positive for the new strain of the virus that has killed 56 people in China so far, reports Yonhap News Agency.
"Upon arrival at the airport he showed no symptoms and was not aware he had been infected until he started suffering from fever, chills and muscle cramps on Wednesday.
"His condition seems to have improved for a few days before getting worse again, at which time he contacted health authorities and was placed in isolation on Saturday for tests and treatment," the KCDC said.
South Korea had reported two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain on Monday and Friday and was keeping close tabs on those that may have come in contact with such people.
In the first incident, the KCDC discovered 44 people who came into contact with the 35-year-old Chinese woman, while in the second case, involving the 55-year-old South Korean man, a total of 67 people have been identified and are being monitored.
Health authorities said that of the two people who were earlier confirmed to have been infected, both are in a stable condition and are receiving treatment, Yonhap said in its report.
The disease has already spread to a dozen other countries with Canada confirming its first case on Saturday after a patient in Ontario tested positive. The man is said to have travelled from China recently.
Five cases have been reported in Thailand, five in Hong Kong, four in Australia, three each in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and France; two each in Japan, the US, Vietnam, Macao; and one confirmed and two suspected in Nepal.
The symptoms of the new coronavirus, provisionally designated by the World Health Organization as 2019-nCoV, are similar to those of cold but may be accompanied by fever and fatigue, dry cough and dyspnea (shortness of breath).
( With inputs from IANS )