161 New COVID-19 Cases and 1 Additional Death Reported

Total Domestic Confirmed Cases 763 · Deaths 7
Among Additional Confirmed Cases, 129 Related to Shincheonji

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Daeyeol, Kim Heungsun] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea increased by 161 overnight. Among the newly confirmed patients, 129 are linked to the Shincheonji Daegu Church (Shincheonji). The death toll also rose by one, bringing the total to seven.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. on the 24th, 161 new confirmed cases were added, raising the total number of domestic cases to 763. Among them, 129 have been confirmed to have a strong connection to Shincheonji. The health authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations on the remaining 32 cases, so the number of patients related to Shincheonji may increase.

By region, 131 new cases were confirmed in Daegu alone, and 10 in Gyeongbuk. In Gyeonggi Province, a total of 10 new cases were confirmed, including 3 related to Shincheonji. Seoul and Gyeongnam each reported 3 new cases, Busan 2, and Gwangju 1.

On the morning of the 24th, citizens lined up in front of Emart Chimsan Branch in Buk-gu, Daegu to buy masks.

Following the death of the 55th patient the previous day, the 286th patient also died on the same day. He was a 62-year-old male patient associated with Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19 has reached seven as of this day, five of whom are linked to Daenam Hospital. Most of these patients had been hospitalized for a long time at Daenam Hospital and had underlying conditions such as mental illness; after contracting COVID-19, their pneumonia worsened, leading to death. The specific cause of death for the seventh patient is currently under investigation.

Among the 763 confirmed patients identified so far, 458 have been confirmed to be related to Shincheonji, accounting for over 60% of the total. The 'super-spreader' situation of Shincheonji was revealed when the 31st patient was confirmed on the 18th. Since then, diagnostic testing has been prioritized for Shincheonji believers in the Daegu area who exhibit symptoms such as fever and cough, causing the total number of patients to surge rapidly.

After the 31st patient was confirmed, 20 additional cases were identified on the 19th, followed by 53 on the 20th, and 100 on the 21st. Subsequently, the number of new cases continued to increase by hundreds daily?229 on the 22nd, 169 on the 23rd, and continuing to rise on this day?showing a much faster growth rate than during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak. At that time, about two months after the first patient was identified, the total number was around 300.