Over 800 Busan Shincheonji Members 'Unaccounted For'... 196 Symptomatic COVID-19 Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jonghyo] Busan City has completed a full survey of all Shincheonji Church of Jesus believers in the region to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), but is facing difficulties in the investigation as about 800 believers have not been contacted.

On the afternoon of the 28th, Busan City held a press conference at the city hall briefing room and announced that the first telephone survey of 14,520 Shincheonji believers in Busan had been completed.

Earlier, on the 26th at around 8 p.m., the city received information containing the names, addresses, dates of birth, and contact details of 14,520 Shincheonji believers residing in Busan through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and began the investigation.

As of the 28th, the city stated that they had contacted the 14,520 Shincheonji believers in Busan more than three times, but 848 people could not be reached by phone. A second telephone survey is being conducted for those who have not been contacted, and for those unreachable, the city plans to cooperate with the police to locate them.

Meanwhile, among the 13,672 people who were contacted, 196 showed symptoms. The city requested these individuals to self-quarantine and visit screening clinics for testing. For the 13,672 people who reported no symptoms, they will be classified as active monitors and contacted twice daily for two weeks to check for symptom development.