South Korea COVID-19 infections 'in full swing' after protest outbreak

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS AUGUST 19, 2020 / 9:51 PM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO

South Korea COVID-19 infections 'in full swing' after protest outbreak

Josh Smith, Sangmi Cha
4 MIN READ

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s coronavirus infections are back “in full swing” and spreading nationwide after members of a church attended a political demonstration, authorities said on Thursday, threatening one of the world’s COVID-19 success stories.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 288 new cases as of midnight on Wednesday, marking a week of triple-digit daily increases, although down slightly from the previous day’s 297.

“This is a grave situation that could possibly lead to a nationwide pandemic,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing.

Without aggressive contact tracing, the country could experience the types of spikes and continued infections witnessed in the United States and Europe, said KCDC deputy director Kwon Jun-wook.

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The demonstration may have been a “catalyst” for the nationwide outbreak, as churchgoers chartered buses to the capital from their homes across the country, including the southern port of Busan, Kwon said.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea/south-korea-covid-19-infections-in-full-swing-after-protest-outbreak-idUSKCN25G05C

[brush]

1. Hey, ministers have to live too. They need those collection plates to be full. After all...

they haven't had any collections for quite a while.

[soryang]

2. There are already over 600 cases in the "First Love Church"

The church members were told to ignore symptoms, refuse to comply with public health orders including quarantines, and then unleashed on the public.

The head of the church Jeon Gwang-hun is a criminal awaiting trial and out on bail. He violated the conditions of bail by organizing and attending the rally. He committed further crimes while on bail encouraging church members not to cooperate with public health officials, concealing their memberships, encouraging them to hide from public health officials. These intentional crimes are in addition to the usual ignorant right wing lies and conspiracy theories he and his fanatic followers on the far right have been spreading in the media.

The permit for the demonstration was obtained by another far right group that told the court they expected 100 participants and that it would last about five hours. A fraud was perpetrated on the court.

At the demonstration itself, the restrictions on the location and public spacing and mask restrictions were violated from the outset. Police were assaulted and demonstrators knocked down barriers and screamed in the faces of police potentially exposing them to virus.

Persons from the church, known to be infected or exposed to infected persons, are fleeing and eluding, and appear to be deliberately going to high traffic places to spread the virus.

In one report, church members are believed to have visited or conducted business at 114 other buildings including call centers, other churches, restaurants and cafes around South Korea.

At the demonstration on August 15 Jeon's speech was translated into English by an interpreter, and the name and phone number of a US bank was televized on Google in an effort to raise funds from US supporters.

One South Korean public health official described the lack of cooperation by the First Love Church worse than the Sincheonji covid surge last spring. The leader of the Sinjeonchi cult is in jail. This is where "pastor" Jeon and his accomplices belong.