COVID-19 prevention campaign workers are passing in front of a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where a cluster of COVID-19 cases occurred. [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] In Incheon, 18 people including pastors and their families were collectively infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the 1st through revival meeting gatherings among newly established pioneering churches.
Incheon City announced that a total of 18 people, including other pastors who had contact with Pastor A (57, female, Incheon case No. 209) of a church in Bupyeong-gu who was confirmed positive the previous day, were additionally confirmed with COVID-19.
The additional confirmed cases are distributed by region as follows: 8 in Michuhol-gu, 6 in Bupyeong-gu, and 1 each in Yeonsu-gu, Jung-gu, Seo-gu, and Namdong-gu. Eleven of them are pioneering church pastors from Incheon and the Gyeonggi areas of Bucheon and Siheung, and seven are known to be the pastors' wives and church members.
Among them, a pastor (53, female) from Bucheon and a pastor (62, female) from Siheung were tested in Bupyeong-gu and Michuhol-gu of Incheon, respectively, and were classified as confirmed cases in the Incheon area.
Health authorities believe that the additional confirmed cases were collectively infected through revival meeting gatherings held on the 28th of last month at a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon. It was confirmed that Pastor A attended the revival meeting.
Among the confirmed cases, a resident of Yeonsu-gu (52, female) and a resident of Namdong-gu (76, female) were identified to have had contact with Pastor A at the Michuhol-gu church on the 28th.
Initially, Pastor A's church in Bupyeong-gu was a pioneering church with only two members, so the possibility of additional COVID-19 confirmed cases was expected to be low. However, after it was revealed that Pastor A attended meetings of other regional churches, COVID-19 testing was conducted on contacts and others.
An official from Incheon City stated, "Newly established pioneering churches have been taking turns holding Bible study meetings and revival meetings, and it is understood that pastors who had contact with Pastor A were collectively infected with COVID-19 during this process. Currently, it is presumed that the transmission originated from the first confirmed case, Pastor A, but since the infection route of Pastor A is unclear, detailed epidemiological investigations such as movement paths are necessary."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
