Mysterious cult at centre of coronavirus outbreak in South Korea

A new coronavirus outbreak in South Korea has been traced to a mysterious doomsday cult church.

A coronavirus outbreak in South Korea has been traced to a mysterious doomsday cult church.

The outbreak has seen the number of coronavirus patients in the country jump to 104, with one death, as two large clusters of cases have been exposed.

A 61-year-old member of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony is believed to be a “superspreader” – that is, someone who spreads the virus at a higher rate than average – who may have infected up to 43 people.

It remains unclear how the superspreader, also known as “Patient 31”, contracted the virus.

Experts have no definite answer on how one becomes a superspreader, although some speculate those with weaker immune systems may be more vulnerable.

It could also be caused by getting a higher dose of the virus in the first place or being infected by more than one pathogen.

On Thursday, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said an additional 53 patients had tested positive for the virus.

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This mostly came from members of the religious faction, which is based in the city of Daegu.

The church is part of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which was established in 1984 by Lee Man-hee and has around 200,000 South Korean members.

There are now over 75,000 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Lee claims to have the ability to save thousands of people on Judgment Day by taking them to heaven with him.

“Most believers accept this large cluster of cases occurring at the church as a test of their belief,” Park Hyung-tak, who leads the Korea Christian Heresy Research Institute, told the South China Morning Post.

Some commentators on social media blamed the custom of churchgoers sitting on the floor close to each other during services as increasing the risk of spreading the virus.

Shincheonji said on Wednesday it had closed its Daegu church and instructed that services elsewhere be held online or individually at home.

RESIDENTS ON EDGE

Residents in Daegu are on edge amid the coronavirus spread.

Shopping centres, restaurants and streets in the city were largely empty in scenes that residents and social media users likened to a disaster movie.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin told residents to stay indoors as he warned of likely further cases.

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“We are in an unprecedented crisis,” he said at a briefing, cautioning that at least 90 more of the 1000 other people who attended services at the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony were also showing symptoms.

“We plan to test all believers of that church and have asked them to stay at home isolated from their families,” Mr Kwon said.

A worker and vehicle spray disinfectant and water as a precaution against the new coronavirus in front of the statue of King Sejong in the Joseon Dynasty, at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. Picture: Ahn Young-joon/AP

South Korea’s vice health minister Kim Kang-lip said at a separate briefing in the administrative city of Sejong that the situation was “very grave”.

The cases previously reported in South Korea had mostly involved people who had travelled individually to China or come into contact with somebody who had, but it is unclear how Patient 31 contracted the virus.

The Defence Ministry banned troops stationed in Daegu from leaving their barracks and receiving guests, while a soldier who had recently visited his home in Daegu tested positive for the virus.

The US military imposed similar restrictions on its army base in the city, which houses thousands of troops, family members and civilian employees, curbing travel and closing schools and childcare centres.

NEARLY 900 NEW CASES IN CHINA

China’s health authorities have confirmed nearly 900 new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed on Thursday – a dramatic spike on the previous day’s tally of 394.

The National Health Commission said on Friday there were 899 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on mainland China on Thursday.

That brings the total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 75,465.

The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 2236 at of the end of Thursday, up by 118 from the previous day.

The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 115 new deaths, while in the provincial capital of Wuhan, 99 people died.

— with Reuters