South Korea has reported its fourth confirmed case of the new strain of coronavirus that began in China and is rapidly spreading around the world. 

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) said on Monday that a 55-year-old South Korean man who returned from the central Chinese city of Wuhan on January 20 tested positive for the virus.

The patient visited a local clinic last Tuesday with signs of a cold and returned four days later complaining of a fever and muscle pains.

Health authorities were notified of the case and the patient was diagnosed with pneumonia on Sunday after which he was placed in quarantine.

Authorities have launched an epidemiological investigation into people the latest patient came into contact with before he was isolated.

Seventy-four people confirmed to have come into contact with the country's third patient are under state monitoring, with one quarantined but later testing negative for the virus.

As of Monday afternoon, a total of 57 people in South Korea were tested for the coronavirus after showing symptoms. 

Fifty-six of them were released from quarantine after testing negative for the virus while one suspected patient is still undergoing testing.