Busan Reports 11 New COVID-19 Cases... Half Are Oncheon Church Congregants

Busan City held a press conference on the afternoon of the 23rd at the briefing room on the 9th floor of Busan City Hall to provide a briefing on the occurrence of additional COVID-19 confirmed cases in the Busan area.
Photo by Kim Jonghyo

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jonghyo] Among the 16 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the Busan area, the majority were found to be related to religious groups such as Dongnae-gu Oncheon Church and Shincheonji.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Busan City held a press conference and announced that 8 of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Busan area were linked to Dongnae-gu Oncheon Church.

The confirmed cases related to Dongnae-gu Oncheon Church were numbers 1, 8 to 11, and 14 to 16, totaling 8 people.

According to epidemiological investigations, patient number 1 was confirmed to have attended a worship service at Oncheon Church from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM on the 19th. Patients number 8 (male, born in 1999, Dongnae-gu), 9 (male, born in 1999, Dongnae-gu), 10 (male, born in 1974, Dongnae-gu), 11 (female, born in 1994, Buk-gu), 14 (male, born in 1988, Dongnae-gu), 15 (male, born in 2001, Dongnae-gu), and 16 (male, born in 1987, Geumjeong-gu) were also found to be related to Dongnae Oncheon Church.

The city explained that these 8 confirmed patients attended a retreat with about 150 participants for one night and two days.

The city has temporarily closed Dongnae Oncheon Church and is currently enforcing self-quarantine measures for those who visited the church in the past two weeks.

Among the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Busan area, patients number 4 (female, born in 1998, Haeundae-gu), 7 (male, born in 1991, Suyeong-gu), and 12 (female, born in 1964, Nam-gu) were confirmed to be related to Shincheonji. The city has identified 64 Shincheonji-related facilities in the region and has conducted disinfection at these locations.

A city official stated, “We are conducting epidemiological investigations including tracking movement paths and contacts of the confirmed patients identified so far, and plan to carry out disinfection of all multi-use facilities within the city using emergency funds. Tomorrow, we will meet with leaders of five religious denominations to request cooperation regarding religious gatherings.”