Thousands of South Korea church members quarantined over virus
August 17, 2020 By Agence France-Presse
South Korea's 'trace, test and treat' approach has been held up as a global model but the country is still battling virus clusters linked to religious groups
Jung Yeon-je AFP/File
Thousands of Protestant church members in Seoul have been asked to quarantine, South Korean authorities said Monday, as the country battles virus clusters linked to religious groups.The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus.
But over the weekend the capital and neighboring Gyeonggi province — between them home to nearly half the population — banned all religious gatherings and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a major second wave
South Korea reported 197 new cases on Monday, taking its total to 15,515, its fourth consecutive day of triple-digit increases after several weeks with numbers generally in the 30s and 40s.
The largest current cluster is centered on the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, headed by a controversial conservative pastor who is a leading figure in protests against President Moon Jae-in.
A total of 315 cases linked to the church had been confirmed so far, officials said Monday, making it one of the biggest clusters so far, and around 3,400 members of the congregation had been asked to quarantine.
Around one in six of the church members tested so far had been positive, “requiring rapid testing and isolation,” said vice health minister Kim Gang-lip.
But a list of members provided by the church was “inaccurate”, he said, making the testing and isolation procedure “very difficult”.
The initial outbreak of the virus in the South was centered on the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often condemned as a cult and was also accused of obstructing investigators.
Sarang Jeil’s leader Jun Kwang-hun was among the speakers who addressed thousands of right-wing protestors who rallied against Moon’s centre-left government in the heart of Seoul at the weekend, despite the outbreak and calls to avoid large gatherings.
The health and welfare ministry and the Seoul city authorities have filed two separate police complaints against Jun, accusing him of deliberately hindering efforts to contain the epidemic
The leader of Shincheonji — to which more than 5,000 cases were linked — Lee Man-hee was arrested earlier this month for allegedly giving inaccurate records of church gatherings and false lists of its members to health authorities.
© 2020 AFP
Controversial South Korean pastor accused of staging 'unpardonable' rally amid surge in Covid cases
Harriet Alexander,The Telegraph•August 16, 2020
South Korea
A controversial South Korean pastor has been strongly criticised for leading thousands of followers to a rally in central Seoul on Saturday - a move which President Moon Jae-in called "an unpardonable act" amid the sharpest rise in coronavirus cases in five months.
South Korea initially performed well in the fight against Covid-19, but the number of new cases has soared recently, with 279 new cases on Sunday - following 103 on Friday, and 166 on Saturday.
The surge in Covid-19 cases prompted authorities on Sunday to reimpose tighter social distancing curbs in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Most of the new infections were among worshipers at the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, where 240 people have tested positive, and at another church in the surrounding province of Gyeonggi.
Tightly packed, fervent prayer services in some South Korean churches have made them particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Rally
Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, 64-year-old leader of the Sarang Jeil Church and an outspoken government critic, used Saturday's rally, organized by another anti-government conservative group, to claim that the outbreak in his church had been caused by a “terrorist” attack aimed at crippling its political activism.
“They poured the virus on our church,” he said during the rally, which drew thousands of elderly worshipers, many not wearing face masks.
The Seoul city government had banned the rally and temporarily shut down Mr Jun's church, citing fears that a large gathering would help spread the virus.
More than 4,000 members of Mr Jun’s church were also ordered to self-isolate for two weeks and test for the virus.
The pastor ignored the order, and was accused on Sunday of violating self-isolation rules by participating in the rally.
He was also accused of “obstructing” epidemiological investigation by failing to submit a full list of church members for testing and tracing.
The Seoul city government said it would sue Mr Jun for his actions. Mr Moon on Sunday called their participation in the rally an “unpardonable act.”
“Many of those who needed to be in self-isolation turned out in street protests, raising the serious possibility that they have spread the virus to protesters who came from around the country,” he said on his Facebook page.
“This is a clear challenge against the disease-prevention system of the state and an unpardonable act against the safety of the people.”
Another Christian sect, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was at the centre of the country’s largest outbreak of Covid-19infections in February.
The secretive group was linked to 36 per cent of South Korea’s total cases, and on August 1, South Korean authorities arrested its founder, Lee Man-hee, for allegedly hiding crucial information from contact-tracers.
Kwon Jun-wook, a deputy director of the government’s Central Disease Control Headquarters, warned on Saturday of “early signs of a large-scale resurgence of the virus.”
Over the weekend the government tightened social-distancing rules in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, which have a combined population of roughly 20 million people.
Under the new rules, spectators will be barred from professional baseball and football games.
The authorities have emphasised that they also have the power to ban large gatherings and shut down high-risk facilities such as karaoke rooms, nightclubs and buffet restaurants if they fail to enforce heightened preventive measures, including temperature checks, keeping rosters of all visitors and requiring them to wear masks.
Thousands of Protestant church members in Seoul have been asked to quarantine, South Korean authorities said Monday, as the country battles virus clusters linked to religious groups.The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus.
But over the weekend the capital and neighboring Gyeonggi province — between them home to nearly half the population — banned all religious gatherings and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a major second wave
South Korea reported 197 new cases on Monday, taking its total to 15,515, its fourth consecutive day of triple-digit increases after several weeks with numbers generally in the 30s and 40s.
The largest current cluster is centered on the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, headed by a controversial conservative pastor who is a leading figure in protests against President Moon Jae-in.
A total of 315 cases linked to the church had been confirmed so far, officials said Monday, making it one of the biggest clusters so far, and around 3,400 members of the congregation had been asked to quarantine.
Around one in six of the church members tested so far had been positive, “requiring rapid testing and isolation,” said vice health minister Kim Gang-lip.
But a list of members provided by the church was “inaccurate”, he said, making the testing and isolation procedure “very difficult”.
The initial outbreak of the virus in the South was centered on the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often condemned as a cult and was also accused of obstructing investigators.
Sarang Jeil’s leader Jun Kwang-hun was among the speakers who addressed thousands of right-wing protestors who rallied against Moon’s centre-left government in the heart of Seoul at the weekend, despite the outbreak and calls to avoid large gatherings.
The health and welfare ministry and the Seoul city authorities have filed two separate police complaints against Jun, accusing him of deliberately hindering efforts to contain the epidemic
The leader of Shincheonji — to which more than 5,000 cases were linked — Lee Man-hee was arrested earlier this month for allegedly giving inaccurate records of church gatherings and false lists of its members to health authorities.
© 2020 AFP
Controversial South Korean pastor accused of staging 'unpardonable' rally amid surge in Covid cases
Harriet Alexander,The Telegraph•August 16, 2020
South KoreaA controversial South Korean pastor has been strongly criticised for leading thousands of followers to a rally in central Seoul on Saturday - a move which President Moon Jae-in called "an unpardonable act" amid the sharpest rise in coronavirus cases in five months.
South Korea initially performed well in the fight against Covid-19, but the number of new cases has soared recently, with 279 new cases on Sunday - following 103 on Friday, and 166 on Saturday.
The surge in Covid-19 cases prompted authorities on Sunday to reimpose tighter social distancing curbs in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Most of the new infections were among worshipers at the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, where 240 people have tested positive, and at another church in the surrounding province of Gyeonggi.
Tightly packed, fervent prayer services in some South Korean churches have made them particularly vulnerable to the virus.
RallyRev. Jun Kwang-hoon, 64-year-old leader of the Sarang Jeil Church and an outspoken government critic, used Saturday's rally, organized by another anti-government conservative group, to claim that the outbreak in his church had been caused by a “terrorist” attack aimed at crippling its political activism.
“They poured the virus on our church,” he said during the rally, which drew thousands of elderly worshipers, many not wearing face masks.
The Seoul city government had banned the rally and temporarily shut down Mr Jun's church, citing fears that a large gathering would help spread the virus.
More than 4,000 members of Mr Jun’s church were also ordered to self-isolate for two weeks and test for the virus.
The pastor ignored the order, and was accused on Sunday of violating self-isolation rules by participating in the rally.
He was also accused of “obstructing” epidemiological investigation by failing to submit a full list of church members for testing and tracing.
The Seoul city government said it would sue Mr Jun for his actions. Mr Moon on Sunday called their participation in the rally an “unpardonable act.”
“Many of those who needed to be in self-isolation turned out in street protests, raising the serious possibility that they have spread the virus to protesters who came from around the country,” he said on his Facebook page.
“This is a clear challenge against the disease-prevention system of the state and an unpardonable act against the safety of the people.”
Another Christian sect, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was at the centre of the country’s largest outbreak of Covid-19infections in February.
The secretive group was linked to 36 per cent of South Korea’s total cases, and on August 1, South Korean authorities arrested its founder, Lee Man-hee, for allegedly hiding crucial information from contact-tracers.
Kwon Jun-wook, a deputy director of the government’s Central Disease Control Headquarters, warned on Saturday of “early signs of a large-scale resurgence of the virus.”
Over the weekend the government tightened social-distancing rules in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, which have a combined population of roughly 20 million people.
Under the new rules, spectators will be barred from professional baseball and football games.
The authorities have emphasised that they also have the power to ban large gatherings and shut down high-risk facilities such as karaoke rooms, nightclubs and buffet restaurants if they fail to enforce heightened preventive measures, including temperature checks, keeping rosters of all visitors and requiring them to wear masks.
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