597 COVID-19 Cases Linked to Shincheonji Daegu Church... 52.1% of Total (Update)

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Among the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea, patients related to the Shincheonji Daegu Church cluster infection continue to account for more than half.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19, as of 9 a.m. today, out of 1,146 confirmed domestic cases, 597 (52.1%) are related to the Shincheonji Daegu Church. By region, Daegu has the highest number with 501 cases, followed by Gyeongbuk with 51, Gyeongnam 13, Gyeonggi 8, Gwangju 7, Busan 6, Chungbuk 3, Seoul 2, Gangwon 2, Ulsan 2, and Incheon and Sejong with 1 case each.

Another cluster outbreak site, Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, has 114 patients (10%) as of this morning. The number of patients related to this site increased by one compared to the previous day. A facility management staff member who had been in quarantine since the 20th was newly confirmed positive. Among the 114 confirmed cases, 103 are hospitalized patients at Daenam Hospital, 10 are staff members, and 1 is a family contact. Among them, 7 have died, 80 are currently hospitalized at the hospital, 26 have been transferred to external hospitals, and 1 is receiving treatment in another region.

Meanwhile, among the total 1,146 confirmed cases, 402 (35%) are sporadic individual infection cases or patients under epidemiological investigation, and 33 (2.9%) are analyzed as existing imported cases from overseas.