South Korea logged 169 new coronavirus infections and three deaths in a single day on Sunday, pushing its national count to 602 cases. Outside China, and apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, no country had more.
President Moon Jae-in responded by raising the alert to “grave,” the top level in the country’s four-tier system. “The COVID-19 incident faces a grave turning point. The next few days will be crucial,” he said after a government meeting. He promised to “drastically strengthen our response system” and urged officials to take “unprecedented powerful measures.”
A church cluster in Daegu
Most of the spike traces to Daegu, in the south. More than 300 cases have been tied to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first was a 61-year-old woman who developed a fever on February 10 and attended at least four services in the city before she was diagnosed. Of the day’s new infections, 95 involved the church.
Daegu is South Korea’s fourth-biggest city, with 2.5 million people. Mayor Kwon Young-jin said it reported more than 90 new cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 247. About 100 new cases came from Cheongdo, a nearby city and the birthplace of Shincheonji’s founder, Lee Man-hee. One of the three people who died was a patient at a hospital in Cheongdo who was being treated for mental health issues.
KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said some 9,300 Shincheonji members in Daegu had been quarantined or asked to stay home, and more than 1,240 reported symptoms. Hundreds more had not yet been reached. Kwon asked every member with symptoms to come forward for testing.
Moon called the situation in Daegu and Cheongdo a “national crisis” and said both cities would get “full support” for any shortage of medical supplies and staff.
The church apologised, in a video statement read by a spokesman, for “causing concern” and said it was cooperating with health authorities. The spokesman rejected blame for the surge, pointing out that the virus had broken out in China. “Please be aware that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and its members are the biggest victims of the COVID-19,” he said.
Israel pilgrims and foreign travel warnings
Eighteen of the new cases were people who had recently come back from a group pilgrimage to Israel. Officials did not know how they were infected, though they said one was probably exposed before the trip, since Israel had reported only one confirmed case.
Other governments were already reacting. Israel had issued an entry ban on South Koreans and on Saturday would not let non-Israelis leave a Korean Air plane. The US State Department raised its travel advisory for South Korea, asking Americans to “exercise increased caution” because of sustained community spread. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an “Alert Level 2” notice saying older adults and people with chronic conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel. Britain advised against all but essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo.
Sources
- South Korea raises virus alert level to highest amid surge in cases
- South Korea raises virus alert to highest level as infections surge
