Coronavirus: South Korea threatens to close churches for not enforcing preventive measures

Gyeonggi Province, which includes Seoul, will close nearly 140 churches if they do not take steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19
This comes after 46 infections in Seongnam, where officials sprayed salt water into the mouths of church-goers without disinfecting the nozzle

Coronavirus pandemic

ReutersandAssociated Press

Published: 2:00pm, 17 Mar 2020

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A South Korean province surrounding Seoul has threatened to shut down nearly 140 churches that have failed to implement preventive measures amid a spread of the coronavirus in the country’s most populous metropolitan region.

Gyeonggi Province said on Tuesday that it has issued an administrative order for the churches to list the names of attendants, screen them for fever and ensure that they wear masks and are at least two metres apart during services until March 29. The province can close the churches and fine them as much as US$2,400 if they fail to abide by the order.

More than 70 of the province’s Covid-19 cases have been connected to gatherings at Protestant churches, with 46 from a small church in the city of Seongnam, where officials possibly worsened infections by using the same spray bottle to inject salt water into the mouths of followers in an ill-advised effort to disinfect them.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 84 new coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, marking a third day in a row that the county has reported fewer than 100 new infections, raising hopes that Asia’s largest outbreak outside China may be easing.

The new numbers are well below a February 29 peak of 909, and bring the country’s total infections to 8,320, the KCDC said. The death toll rose by two to 81.

The government said on Tuesday it plans to tighten border checks for all arrivals from overseas to prevent new cases of coronavirus coming into the country at a time when domestically transmitted infections are subsiding.

“We’ve assessed that there’s a need for universal special entry procedures for all arrivals, given rapid increases in new cases not only in Europe but also in the United States and Asia in the wake of the pandemic,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing.

The stricter border checks for all arrivals will start on Thursday.

Workers wearing protective gear prepare to spray disinfectant in front of a building housing the Grace River Church, where 46 people were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus. Photo: AFP

Kim said there are 44 cases involving infected travellers, 16 of whom from Europe, 14 from China and another 14 from other Asian countries. Six of them were South Koreans who tested positive between Friday and Sunday after showing symptoms during border checks.

Seoul has already imposed the rules on visitors from China, Italy and Iran, requiring them to sign up by a smartphone application to track whether they have any symptoms such as fever.

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President Moon Jae-in has said he was increasingly confident South Korea would overcome the virus as the rate of new cases continued to drop.

Another 264 patients were discharged on Tuesday from hospitals where they had been isolated for treatment, bringing the total to 1,401, the KCDC said. South Korea reported more recoveries than new infections on Friday for the first time since its outbreak emerged in January.

The encouraging trend comes as tests and treatment of many patients are nearing completion in the hardest-hit city of Daegu, home to a fringe Christian church that was at the centre of the outbreak in South Korea.

But authorities renewed warnings against smaller clusters that continue to emerge, especially in the greater Seoul area.

At least 134 cases have been linked to a Seoul-based call centre operated by an insurance company whose 800-strong workforce is being tested or in quarantine for monitoring.

A man takes a photograph at the gate to the temporarily closed River of Grace Community Church in Seongnam, South Korea, after the pastor, his wife, and other church-goers were found to be infected with the coronavirus. Photo: EPA-EFE

In Seongnam, south of Seoul, 46 members of a Protestant church tested positive, including the pastor, who attended services twice early this month despite government calls to cancel mass gatherings.

The vice health minister said people at the church had even rinsed their mouths using the same salt water sprayer in an ill-advised effort to disinfect themselves.

“That is an example of how misinformation could raise the risks of infection”, he said. “Once again, we’re requesting the citizens to refrain from attending gatherings in enclosed space as much as possible.”

South Korea’s virus response is the opposite of China’s – and it works

Meanwhile, South Korea’s vice finance minister said on Tuesday the widening fallout from the coronavirus outbreak may lead to unprecedented economic and financial crisis for the country, and vowed to take action to keep credit flowing in the market.

“We will keep in mind that we may face an unprecedented economic and financial crisis,” Kim Yong-beom said in a policy meeting.

Kim also said the government will deploy market stabilising measures in a timely manner and coordinate with the central bank and financial regulators in the process.

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