Virus spike continues on infections at churches

Members of a church in Seoul's Jungnang-gu head to a makeshift COVID-19 testing facility at the church, Wednesday, following an outbreak of infections there. / Yonhap

Six-day COVID-19 total exceeds 1,000

By Jun Ji-hye

More than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported here in less than a week with Korea's daily new infections soaring by three-digit figures due mainly to infection clusters traced to churches in Seoul and the surrounding areas, the health authorities said Wednesday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 297 new cases Tuesday, including 283 locally transmitted ones, taking the total caseload to 16,058.

Nearly 1,300 new infections have been identified since Aug. 13 when the nation added 103 cases. Since then, the number of daily new cases has hovered between 103 and 297.

Among the 283 locally transmitted infections, 252 were reported in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, including 150 in the capital and 94 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province.

Other parts of the country including Busan and Gangwon Province also reported several cases, raising concerns that a second wave of infections could be about to strike nationwide.

The Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul led by pastor Jun Kwang-hoon has continued to be a hotbed, with 166 more infections reported, raising the total related cases to 623 as of noon Wednesday.

Jun, a conservative pastor, has led several anti-government rallies, with the most recent one held in central Seoul last Saturday bringing together thousands of demonstrators.

The government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government filed a complaint against Jun, Sunday, for violating the country's Infectious Disease Prevention Law.

Jun himself tested positive for COVID-19, Monday.

Public anger over church

KCDC Deputy Director Kwon Joon-wook said, “As infections that occurred at the Sarang Jeil Church have spread widely to call centers, medical institutions, nursing homes and other churches, we are carrying out epidemiological investigations at 144 locations.”

Another church in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, added seven more infections, raising its related caseload to 154 within the same timeframe, according to the KCDC.

Amid a continued surge in church-related infections, public anger has been boiling over, especially over Jun and those who participated in Saturday's rally.

Some citizens posted petitions on the website run by the presidential office, claiming that hospitalization and treatment costs incurred by Jun as well as church members and demonstrators infected with COVID-19 should be covered by themselves, not by public health insurance.

“Jun ignored the government's warning and brought about the crisis by instigating the church members to participate in a massive rally,” one petitioner wrote.

In its desperate efforts to stem the further spread of the virus, the government has raised social distancing guidelines from Level 1 to Level 2 in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon. The government has also banned churches in the capital area from holding face-to-face services.