After being widely praised for containing COVID-19 without locking down, South Korea is facing what could be the worst outbreak the country has seen since the pandemic began. Monday was the fourth day in a row South Korea coronavirus cases spiked to the triple digits, with the largest cluster of new cases tied to Sarang Jeil Church.
“We’re seeing the current situation as an initial stage of a large-scale transmission,” said Jeong Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), according to Reuters. “We’re facing a crisis where if the current spread isn’t controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases, which could in turn lead to the collapse of our medical system and enormous economic damage.”
Since Friday, there have been a total of 745 new cases of COVID-19 in the country. Sunday recorded the highest number at 279 and Monday the second-highest at 197. The outbreaks are occurring in the capital city of Seoul and the surrounding area, says Yonhap News Agency. According to NPR, South Korea has not seen numbers in the triple digits since February, when there were around 900 cases per day. While the country never totally eliminated the virus, it was able to bring new cases down to the double digits, most recently in the 30s and 40s.
South Korea Coronavirus Cases Rise Dramatically
As of Monday, 315 of the recent COVID-19 cases have been linked to Sarang Jeil Church, a Presbyterian Church in Seoul. NPR says the church’s outbreak is believed to have occurred as a result of one person who attended a service on Aug. 9 and tested positive on Aug. 12. Officials want all of the 4,000 church members to quarantine, but 600 are reportedly still unaccounted for. Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip has accused Sarang Jeil of providing an “inaccurate” list of its membership and of obstructing testing and quarantine efforts. The city of Seoul and the Ministry of Health and Welfare have filed separate police complaints against the church’s leader, Rev. Jun Kwang-hun, for thwarting their efforts to contain the virus.
Jun is a controversial figure known for his conservative political activism. He has been an outspoken critic of President Moon Jae-in, calling for his removal from office, and was arrested in February for violating election laws. According to ABC News, the pastor has come under fire over the past few months for ignoring warnings from health officials not to hold “tightly packed” worship services. This past weekend, he ignored the order to quarantine and participated in an anti-government rally in downtown Seoul, a gathering that around 10,000 people attended, according to VOA News. At the rally, Jun claimed that conspirators had deliberately brought the virus into his church. The pastor tested positive for COVID-19 following the event.
Sarang Jeil Church is not the only source of the current South Korea coronavirus cases. One hundred and thirty-one have been linked to Woori Jeil Church in Yongin, 42 have been linked to a Starbucks in Paju, and 14 have been linked to bars and clubs in Gwangju. Other new cases have been tied to various restaurants, schools, and businesses in the area. Officials in Seoul and Gyeonggi province have banned religious gatherings and discouraged traveling. Reports also say people may no longer attend sporting events and all gatherings have been limited to 50 people inside and 100 people outside.
One of the most notable aspects of the South Korea coronavirus outbreak in February was that the majority of cases were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a doomsday cult based in Daegu. More than 5,000 cases were eventually connected to the congregation, and on Aug. 1, leader Lee Man-hee was arrested for obstructing contact tracing efforts.
While the numbers from the past four days are still much lower than the 900 cases per day the country saw in February, a key difference between that spike and this weekend’s is that the current outbreak is occurring in multiple locations instead of being focused on one. Said Kim Gang-lip, “We are seeing cluster infections simultaneously and sporadically at various venues, including churches, cafes, and restaurants. These are the initial signs of a large-scale infection.”
